The Trinity Chronicle
by Mariamus
Summary: A femme tries to find the truth about her past, and ultimately finds her place in the universe. This is mainly an OC story, so if you're not into that, I recommend finding something else.
1. Megatron of Tarn

**Megatron of Tarn.**

Watching the city of Kaon burn, he remembered the reason why he had ended up here in the first place.

He wanted to create a new world. A new world where everything was better than this. A golden age, where nobody suffered, nobody had to leave the ones they loved to scrape even the tiniest bit of energon to survive another day.

No, even if he had to burn down the whole world, he would build a new one on the smoldering corpse of the old regime.

The work in the mine was just a way to survive. And then they would take it away from him! Fill them all with empty promises of relocation, new jobs that would never be.

He hadn't meant to kill that first time. It had just happened. At first he had been horrified. Killing someone had been a mistake. Prison, a mistake. It had escalated so much. Almost as if someone had guided his hand. Shoved him down a predetermined path.

At first the plan had been to hide out for a while. When the ruckus had died down he could return to Tarn and find her, take her away from that wretched planet, build a new home and raise her, find the other half-spark to complete her.

He had started to fight in the lesser gladiatorial battles. The weak stuff. Then he'd heard about the slaughter in Tarn and Vos. The senate had done nothing. Nothing! Just sat on their tailpipes, shrugged with a forgiving mine, hoping the two cities would find it out between themselves. But the whole thing had escalated like so many things on Cybertron tended to do. The cities had wiped each other out. Only a few thousand survivors had been left. All the upper class mechs who had gotten a heads up before the attacks started.

He'd tried to contact her guardian. Even knowing he could get caught if he got in touch with the wrong person. No… Weeping femmes had cried brave tears in the announcements. They had no warning, no way out.

He'd seen their quarters, all the buildings in that quadrant, demolished.

He'd joined the fights in the real gladiatorial battles that night.

Oh, he hadn't really intended to win. He had been looking for a fast way out.

But the nerve of that mech. Taunted him, he'd been defenseless, his weapon had been of no use.

He could always become a weapon. He charged, tackled, won… Till all are one! The crowd had been rabid, demanded a kill.

He remembered the same horrible feeling of the first kill on his hands. The oil he felt he could never wash off… He thought about it for a moment. Maybe he could never wash off the blood on his hands. But he could thin it with the blood of others. For her, he would fight, kill and maim until he could reshape this world into something that would have been worthy for her to grow up in.

He swung the weapon that was tossed to him, once and for all killing the last piece of what was left of his old self.

The cheers were muted as he removed his helmet, looking into the light above him. He could see her small optics on him. He would never see her again, but he would create a world anew, just for her. As he put his helmet back, the jubilant screams of the onlookers became loud again, and he was no longer Megatron of Tarn, father, miner... nobody. He was Megatron, the Decepticon ruler!

* * *

By the way, I'd appreciate reviews. I reeeeally like reviews. pretty please? yes, push the button right down there, and type up a review for me! Yay!


	2. A single survivor

**One survivor.**

To quell the rising anger toward them, as a direct result of the handling of the Tarn/Vos conflict. The Senate had sent out a small search and rescue unit to Tarn and Vos, to try to find any survivors in what was left of the cities.

Among the volunteers, one of the Senate security officers were overseeing the death toll.

"Optronix? Have you finished this quadrant?" One of the volunteers had stepped up to the officer.

"It depends on if you have found any more casualties?"

"We haven't. Everything is just pieces of scrap. We can barely tell where one body begins and where it ends."

Optronix nodded, taking in the sight of the city.

"Sometimes I wonder what the senate is doing…"

"What?"

Optronix shook his head and started walking down the street. Everywhere they went, they only found death. He wished that maybe they could find a survivor! Just one…

"Optronix! We may have something here!" One of the volunteers cried out, rolling the body of a femme away. She had shielded a smaller body with her own.

"it's a sub-unit! Femme, not more than a few vorns old. I'd say 4, tops."

"Condition?"

"Critical, but there is definitely spark activity."

Optronix watched as the volunteer picked up the small unit. The femme had been guarding the child with her own body. He extended his hands and the volunteer reluctantly handed the child over to him.

"I'll take her…" He whispered.

He walked away with the child in his arms. She was offline, but the volunteer was right, she was still alive. For once, Primus had listened and granted a small miracle in a time where corruption ruled, and everyone looked out only for themselves.


	3. The Halfspark

**The Half-spark**

Optronix watched as the Medibots worked on restoring the small sub-unit. The chief medic, Ratchet, came through the doors with a tiny, but worried, smile on his lips.

"She's going to be alright, but there are a few complications."

Optronix nodded, looking through the window to the med-bay.

"But she will live?"

"Yes, but much of her memory has been scrambled. We tried restoring some of it, but it didn't seem to help much. It's a miracle those Photon bombs didn't wipe her out like everyone else."

Optronix nodded again, looking at Ratchet as the medic spoke again.

"We've compressed the memories and locked them down in her system for repairs. Who knows, maybe she'll compile the data on her own, but it could take a long time."

Optronix sighed.

"So finding the other parental unit won't be an easy task."

"Oh, about that. She's just a half-spark."

"What?"

A subunit was created by the parental units. When the body was built, the parental units would give a small piece of their spark to give the child life. If a subunit only had one parent, it was called a half-spark.

A half-spark, while not uncommon in young mechs, were rather uncommon in those over two vorns old. Parental units usually tried to find a suitable other in a short while. Very few allowed their sub-units to stay half-sparks for long, as it could turn out problematic to introduce another spark piece in an older mech.

"Optronix, what do you want us to do?"

He turned his head, looking at the small child again.

"The senate wanted to know of survivors. So that's the first priority."

Optronix seemed transfixed on the child.

"Is she online?"

"She will be soon. Would you like to talk to her?"

He didn't answer, but walked into medbay and sat down by the recharge-bed. The child was still for a while, but eventually her optics flickered and came online. She watched Optronix for a few moments with a strange curiosity.

"Who are you?" She finally asked.

"My name is Optronix. I brought you back to the city for repairs."

"Repairs?"

"You… were hurt."

"Oh… Okay. How was I hurt?"

Optronix smiled behind his facemask. Such an inquisitive mind…

"It's a long story. Do you remember anything at all? Your name? Your parental unit?"

She was silent for a while, processing his questions before she shook her head.

"No."

Optronix nodded and got up from his seat.

"I have to go now…"

"Will you come back?"

"Would you like that?"

The child nodded and watched him leave.

* * *

Optronix stood before the council, listening to the judges bickering about the fate of Tarn's only survivor.

"You say she is a half-spark?"

"Yes. Chief medic Ratchet confirmed this in his initial diagnostics. We have every reason to believe that the parental unit was the one who shielded the child."

"And this femme didn't survive?"

"No."

Optronix quelled a sigh. He hated the way the council seemed to not care the slightest bit of the fate of anyone but themselves. If the senate and the council had just a fraction of the courage of the femme they had rolled off the child, Cybertron would have looked much different.

It seemed the council had finally agreed on something.

"We will broadcast a segment about the child's survival and ship her to the Sub-unit department in Uraya."

Optronix stepped forward.

"What? That place is a death-trap!"

"Officer Optronix, you know as well as we do, the Council and the Senate have their hands full with the Tarn and Vos relationship and the new underground gladiatorial battles. The child survived the attacks, and that's a miracle in itself, but she is merely a half-spark, and without a parental unit, she's going to Uraya as policy dictates!"

"What about adoption? That has to be possible if she is only a half-spark!"

"It will take duins to make such arrangements, and in the meantime, she will still be shipped to Uraya. We suggest that you…"

"What if I adopt her?"

The council members fell quiet, watching Optronix with a mild interest, almost as if their boring lives suddenly got a little bit more interesting.

"You?"

"Yes! I'm willing to give her the last half."

Optronix clenched his fists, praying hard to Primus that the council would for once just go with it instead of being stubborn hardas…

"We will vote on it."

The council members all got up and left the chambers. Optronix knew he had to wait for them to return. He stood still, knowing the council would be watching his every move.

As the council returned, he checked his internal clock and realized they had been voting for two megacycles. The council resumed their seats and looked at him.

"The council has decided that you may complete the spark. You can leave."

Optronix turned on his heel and left the chambers.

* * *

FYI. I found the time-tables at the Don Murphy message boards.

here's the timetable for clarification and easy access (I couldn't post a link)

**KLIK** Cybertronian second. Equal to 4.98 earth seconds.

**NANO-KILK** One tenth of a Klik. Equal to 0.498 earth seconds

**CYCLE** Cybertronian minute. Equal to ten kliks or 49.8 earth seconds.

**BREEM** Value for ten Cybertronian minutes or ten cycles. Equal to 8.3 Earth minutes.

**MEGACYCLE** Cybertronian hour. Equal to 10 breems or 83 Earth minutes.

**ASTROCYCLE** Cybertronian day or time taken for the planet to complete a whole rotation. Equal to 99.75 Megacycles or approx. 5.75 Earth days (138 hours)

**QUINTUN** Cybertronian week. Equal to five Astocycles or approx. 28.75 Earth days.

**DUIN** Cybertronian month. Equal to five Quintuns or approx. 143.75 Earth days.

**VORN** Cybertronian year or time taken for a full orbit of it's sun. Equal to 21 Duins or approx. 8.27 Earth years (3018.75 Earth days)

Basically, Cybertron has a 99 and three quarter hour day, a five-day week, a twenty-five day month and a 525 day year, or twenty one months.

One Cybertron decade is an **ORN** (30187.5 Earth Days or 82.70547945 Earth Years), one century is a **DECAVORN** (301875 Earth Days or 827.0547945 Earth Years), a millennium a **KILOVORN** (approx: 8270.547945 Earth Years), and **1,000,000** years is a MEGAVORN (approx: 8,270,547.945 Earth Years).


	4. Asking for permission

**Asking for permission**

"I asked the council for permission, and they gave it. Now I just have to know what you feel about it?"

"What's wrong with Uraya?"

"It's a bad place… Most sub-units who end up there are either disabled or end up in the gladiator battles."

"Why is the council sending them there?"

Optronix didn't know how to answer that. He wanted to be honest and tell the child that the council and the senate weren't exactly the best bots in the world, but it wasn't time to completely disillusion the child. Everyone needed to believe in the good of others when they were young.

"I don't think they know how bad it is."

The child seemed satisfied with the explanation. She was still fragile from the bombings, but as soon as he could, he would give her the last spark piece and take her home…

Home… Optronix stood up, realizing that he had neglected to inform a vital person about this change of living conditions.

* * *

"You have… what?"

"Adopted a half-spark…"

Elita-One was quiet for a long while, looking at Optronix with a look on her face he couldn't decipher.

"Why didn't you speak to me about it? You know I didn't want a sub-unit… at the very least not in the next few decavorns!"

Optronix nodded, taking her hand.

"I know… But she doesn't have anyone else! They were going to ship her off to Uraya."

"Why is that your problem? I'm sure there are others who would adopt the child if they just waited a few quintun."

"They weren't prepared to do that… Elita, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about this first, but I'm sure you will like the child. She's well-behaved…"

Elita-One knew she wouldn't win this discussion. Optronix, even with all his work in the senate, had always kept a very strong sense of right and wrong. He firmly believed that maybe he could save the world, one bit-step at a time.

"All right."

Elita-One watched from the window as Optronix followed the child to their home. He was right, the child was well behaved, but the more Elita watched the sub-unit, the more she wanted to take back her words. There was something about the child that scared her. It wasn't an underlying evil. She wasn't sure the child even knew of ill intentions or evil, but it was as if she carried some unknown curse, a sense of foreboding everywhere she went. As if the child would unintentionally cause much pain in the future.

Elita couldn't voice her concern to Optronix; He was enraptured by the child, pouring all his love into the little one. He was more proud than she had ever seen him when she was finally strong enough to receive the last spark piece.

Elita had tried to postpone it, told him that she was still so fragile. In the end, he had decided that to be her name. Maria, the ancient Autobot word for fragile.

* * *

Hey, you!

Yeah, you!!

Push the review button darn it! write something! Feed my reviewmonster!

Also, I know it may seem strange, but I never have been able to write a good relationship between Maria and Elita-One. I don't dislike Elita, I think she's a great character, but strangely enough, I've never been able to get Maria and Elita to get along.

It's not hate, it's more a disinterest in each other, I guess...


	5. Memories

"No! This is no good. I've told you at least a thousand times how to do this!"

"I'm sorry."

"Being sorry won't do you any good if somebody attacks you!"

Maria looked down, not wanting to face the full brunt of Elita-1's anger. Maria's sparring partner, Jazz, stood silent next to the Femme he had just tackled. He finally looked at Elita.

"Easy does it, Lita. She's just a kid!"

Elita-1 turned her head to Jazz with a sour expression.

"Do you really think the Decepticons will care? I've spent too much time trying to teach her anything. It's like she doesn't understand how vital fighting is, especially for a femme!"

Maria had gotten to her feet, but didn't move away from her spot next to Jazz. Elita kept talking to Jazz, and Maria felt like she wasn't in the room.

"I'll tell you this much, Jazz. If she doesn't shape up and learn how to fight, she's going to be the first one to see Primus when the Decepticons attack! Hell, her only use right now is being tossed out the window during the first assault, maybe we'll get lucky and she'll hit someone on the way down!"

"Elita!" Jazz reprimanded.

Maria hurried out, not wanting to anger the Femme commander any further.

She made her way to the tower in Iacon. It was her favorite place, not only because of the beautiful view over the planet, but because it also held the last library in all of Cybertron.

She grieved over the information that had been lost as Megatron burned the cities, valuable knowledge that could have been used to restore the planet to its former glory.

She took one of the holodiscs and inserted it in the last remaining console. She usually kept quiet about her trips to the library. Every little spark of energon was valuable, and some found her excessive research in the archives to be a waste of energon.

She looked through the holodisc, reading about the Tarn and Vos fights. She wanted to skip past it, but stopped when she saw an image of a playground in Tarn. Images flickered inside her head. Someone picked her up. Red eyes gleaming. Not with hate, but pride.

"_Don't go..."_

Her voice was small. She wasn't even sure if these were really her memories.

"_I'll come back."_

"_When?"_

"_Soon, Lumen..."_

She looked at his face, but the Cybertron sun shone bright. Bathing the playground in a yellow light and blacking out his face. All she could see was four antenna-looking things sticking out from his head, making him look like he was wearing a headdress of some sort.

"_Do not worry... I'll take good care of her. I'll protect her as if she were my own."_

"_Thank you."_

Feminine hands slipped around her, pulling her out of the mech's grasp.

"_Don't leave me!"_

He turned away and left, putting on a helmet as he left.

Her optics finally came back online and she found herself sitting on the floor, clutching her knees, while moisture leaked from her optics. Whatever this memory was, it was a painful one.

Lumen... She didn't remember ever hearing that name before. But still it seemed as if it belonged to her.

She got to her feet and closed the console down before putting the holodisc back.

As she walked back to the living quarters, she noticed a mass of citizens gathering at the city center. People were screaming and yelling.

Maria wiped her eyes and hurried over to the assembly. She noticed the femmes standing near the podium, but didn't join them. Finally, she saw the last council members gathering above them. Murmurs swept through the crowd, and Maria picked up a few fragments of the conversations. Sentinel Prime was dead and the Matrix had chosen a new leader.

"But why you?" Elita looked at Optronix... or rather, Optimus, as his new name was.

"I do not know, Elita. The council summoned me and told me that the Matrix had chosen me as the new Prime. "

Maria joined Optimus in the common room after Elita had left. She watched him for a while.

He looked different, but his eyes were the same. But something else surrounded him. An aura of strength, but also the view of a burden that had been placed on his shoulders. She covered the last distance between them and hugged him. He relaxed when he felt her arms around him.

"I'm proud of you, dad."

He tightened his grip around her.

"I'm glad to know."

"You're afraid."

"Yes. I've only been this scared once before."

"I didn't think you could ever be scared." She pulled back, smiling to him.

"When you were put in my arms for the first time. I knew it was my task to protect you for the rest of my life."

Maria thought of the red eyes in her memory. As much as she wanted to know, she couldn't ask him now. But there were others she could ask.

She knocked on the door to the med-bay office. She was answered by a grunt, which she took for a permit to enter.

"Ratchet, are you busy?"

"I'm always busy!" He sneered. He looked up and his expression softened when he saw who had entered his office. Maria wished he wouldn't look at her like so. It was as if everyone treated her like a crystal doll. Fragile enough to be broken by even a harsh word. But then again, Elita gave her a hard enough time for the rest of them.

"What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you could give me a check-up?"


	6. Medical examination

"My initial diagnosis is that everything checks out fine. The diagnostics I ran all came out 100. Except your energy level, which is only 45... But I guess that's as high as it comes these days."

The chief medic washed his hands and looked at the small femme in the mirror.

"But, by the look in your optics I'm guessing that's not really why you came to see me?"

He turned, locking his optic on the girl who was still sitting on the examination table.

She looked at him, then down at her hands, fidgeting a little.

"I had a... vision, or something like that."

Ratchet grabbed a chair and sat down, motioning for her to continue.

"I saw someone. I don't know who, because I couldn't see his face. But he said goodbye to... I don't know, me?"

If Ratchet knew anything, his face betrayed nothing.

"Go on."

Maria shrugged, looking at her hands again.

"I recognized a place I've seen in in photos of Tarn. A playground near a quadrant of homes. There was a femme there as well. She said she'd take care of me. And then he walked away."

Ratchet sat still for a while, watching the young femme on the table. She'd been a small one when Optronix had brought her back to Iacon. She was almost of age now, but she still possessed a child-like quality that made her seem fragile and innocent. It was hard to believe that someone other than Optronix.. or Optimus as he was called now, could have fathered the child.

Since this was a time of war, it was hard to find someone who was still innocent in almost every way. Ratchet put his hands on her shoulder and held it there for a moment.

"When Optronix found you, it was a small miracle that you had survived those photon blasts. Your vision is an old happening that has been released from your compressed memory banks."

"But why now?" She asked.

Ratchet didn't know how to respond to that question. It could be any number of things that played in. A jumble in her memory core, correctly compiled data that had been released.

"What were you doing when you remembered this?"

Maria looked away, and Ratchet sighed.

"You were in the tower again?"

She nodded.

"You know you're not allowed up there. Every single drop of energon..."

"... Is precious! I know, Ratchet. But all that information must be good for something! You guys can fight, All I have is what I learn. I don't believe this war can be won on fighting alone. There must be another way to win."

Ratchet shook his head.

"If you think you can talk a decepticon out of shooting you, you're wrong. A Decepticon has only few objectives. Destroy and conquer. No amount of smarts will save you if you're caught in a bad place and you don't know how to fight."

Maria eyed the medic and got off the table.

"So, this is my destiny. To stay behind these walls and rot for as long as this war goes on?"

Ratchet shook his head.

"Of course not. Learn how to fight and you'll do fine."

Maria shoved her hands up infront of his face.

"Look at me! I'm not built for war. I'm not even built for hard labor. I can't fight!"

Ratchet turned back to the examination table.

"I'm sorry, I have to get back to this..."

Her hands dropped to her sides and she left med-bay.


	7. Goodbye present

It became an obsession for the femme to find out more and more about her past.

All the while she researched the archives to find names of the deceaced, Cybertron crumbled around them. The once golden and prosperous planet dried up and became a dull gray ball of metal.

The energon mines had long been empty, and the citizens of Iacon, the last stronghold of the Autobots, had to venture into more and more dangerous territory to find even the slightest drop of energon.

Everyone had been whispering about it for quite some time, when Optimus Prime finally announced that they were going to use the last bit of energon to travel the galaxies in the hopes to find a better source of energon.

The citizens were divided. The loyals who hoped it would turn the tide of the war to their favor, and those who, almost violently, opposed the idea of using the last energon to finance a trip that could turn out fruitless.

Maria cried bitter tears the day the energon supply in the library was cut. She had found next to no information on who the bots in her vision could be, but she had only just found the sub-unit registration archives. A search for Lumen could have given her a clue as to who her other parental unit was.

She had also been the only one to protest the use of the tower-metals to build the Ark. She hadn't been able to watch as they tore down the library, finally putting an end to her search.

*************

Elita-one was fuming. She had expected Optimus to at the very least include her in the search, but when she found out that he hadn't put her name on the list, she sought him out to give him a piece of her mind.

"Elita, I'm sorry, but it's much too dangerous. We have no idea what we find out there."

Optimus only thought of her safety, but the femme leader was still furious.

"Then why are you bringing some of the smaller autobots with you? I can fight, Optimus, you know I can!"

Optimus did not deny her fighting prowess, but still found that she should stay back for a number of reasons.

"Elita, you're the closest thing to a second-in-command, I need you here in case the Decepticons attack Iacon. And I need you here to look after Maria."

It didn't cool down the Femme leader.

"So you want me to stay back and take care of your child? Is that all I am good for? To be your nanny?"

Optimus was well aware that the fight was lost, it wouldn't matter what he said from this point on. He just shook his head.

"No, of course not. And what do you mean, 'my' child? I thought she was..."

Elita shook her head, suddenly a lot more placid.

"Optimus... She is your child, and yours alone."

Elita left the chambers, brushing past Maria on her way out.

Upon discovering her, Optimus tried to seem lighthearted, but the femme seemed to look right through the lousy attempt.

"I'm sorry..."

Optimus was surprised to hear the child apologize to him. He shook his head.

"No, it's not your fault. I... Elita is angry because I didn't put her on the list."

Maria put down a box on the table next to them.

"I know you're leaving soon... I just wanted to give you this before..."

Optimus looked at the box.

"A present?"

The femme smiled.

"It's just something I have been tinkering with since I heard you were going away."

Optimus opened the box and lifted a small four-wheeled drone-module out of the box.

"What is this?" He asked, holding the little thing in his arms.

"It's a drone... I made him for you. When you activate him, he will tune into your circuitry and follow your orders. You can see what he sees, and to some extent, feel what he feels. Of course, if he is destroyed, it would most likely cause you some discomfort, but it wouldn't kill you."

Optimus examined the little drone, a smile hidden behind his face-plate. Maria watched him, clutching her hands together.

"I thought... Maybe he could be of some help on your trip?"

Optimus looked at Maria. She was fidgeting, looking at the drone.

"I call him Roller... It's stupid, i know."

Optimus put the drone down on the table and put his hand on her shoulders.

"No, Maria... I love it. It's a great idea!"

Optimus released the femme and activated the drone. He could feel a small tingle in his circuit as the drone tuned in. The drone gave off an excited series of beeps and whistles that made Optimus chuckle.

"He's a happy one, isn't he?"

He looked at his daughter, finding that she wasn't smiling.

"You are coming back... Aren't you?" She asked.

Optimus wasn't sure he could answer the question truthfully. He embraced the femme and held her for a few moments.

"Don't worry, Maria. I'll come back."

"When?"

He released her and she could tell he was smiling.

"Soon..."

*************

Maria was sneaking through the ravaged landscape, determined to see the launch from one of the nearby towers.

Tower 5 was the furthest, but also the tallest, and the ideal position to watch the launch. The only problem was that it was as close to Decepticon territory you could get without entering.

The pathway to Tower 5 was eerily quiet. This had been one of the biggest trade routes on Cybertron, but now it was just a ghostly landscape, spare parts and collapsed buildings littering the place.

Maria felt her pump stop for a full moment when she heard footsteps. She hid between piles of wreckage, listening to the footsteps drawing closer. There had to be at least five, judging from the sound of their footsteps. She could hear them talking, a high pitched voice drawing the most attention.

"...But the autobots are launching in less than two Megacycles! Are we just going to sit here and wait for them to return with enough energon to wipe us off the face of the planet?"

Maria stopped all air intake when she heard the voice answering.

"As usual, your assupmtions are incorrect, Starscream."

She recognized the voice, but was unsure where she had heard it. She moved slightly, sneaking a peak at the group. She recognized three of the forms as a group simply known as the Seekers. And then there was Megatron. She had seen so many images of him, and she knew he was dangerous. But seeing him stand only a short distance from her made her oil run cold. Elita's warnings about the Decepticons ran through her processors. The last one in the group was a large blue Decepticon. He hadn't spoken a word and seemed almost indifferent to the scene.

Suddenly, he turned his head, and Maria ducked behind the rubble again, her pump racing in her chest. She could hear their footsteps moving away from her, and it took several kliks for her pump to stop working overtime.

She was almost ready to get up when the blue Decepticon suddenly stood over her. Maria felt like her system was about to shut down, all sorts of horrors running through her mind as the Decepticon watched her with a peciluar interest. If it wasn't for the face plate and visor she could have sworn he was smiling.

He raised his arm and reached out, almost as if he wanted to touch her.

"Soundwave!" one of the seekers called. Soundwave didn't take his optics away from her, but stood up instead.

"What is taking you so long?"

It felt like an eternity before Soundwave finally answered. A monotonous, almost singing, voice ringing clear through the landscape.

"Nothing."

He turned and left with the others.

Maria counted at least ten cycles before she was able to get up. Her wish to see the launch from the tower had diminished to almost nothing, and she started to walk back to Iacon.


	8. Dead end signals

One last transmission was received before the signal was lost.

_Under attack. Hull breached._

Nothing was received after that. The signal remained a dead end.

After two astrocycles, Ultra Magnus gave orders to stop searching.

"Magnus, please don't do this! They have to keep trying!"

The small femme stood in front of the Iacon Commander, her hands clasped together. He turned his head away. The femme was too much an image of his own guilty conscience.

"Maria, we simply don't have the resources to keep searching..."

"Then I'll cut my daily ratio in half! Please, Magnus!"

Magnus looked at her again.

"The daily rations are barely big enough to keep you alive as it is."

"I'll shut down processes! I'll shut off my optics and sensory systems!"

Magnus shook his head.

"Maria... Please don't ask me to leave you deaf and blind. It's futile.. we've searched the quadrant for all radio signals."

"But they could have been flung out! There's a meteor field at the edge of the sector. If they didn't man..."

"No! Maria..." The commander ordered, silencing the femme. Seeing her shoulders fall, he immediately softened.

"Maria... We need all our resources to fight the remaining Decepticons. Optimus was our leader, and if they survived, he would have found a way to contact us by now."

Ultra Magnus looked up as the technician arrived.

"You can disassemble the radio now..."

Maria watched as the technician pulled the plug on the radio, ending the silent transmission. She turned on her heels and hurried out. She didn't want Ultra Magnus trying to comfort her, and she knew that's what he would try to do.

She pressed the button to her door and heard it slide shut behind her.

_Please don't cry. please don't. It takes too many resources. They'll know... they'll..._

All the reasoning didn't help when the first tears started running. She collapsed to the floor, shaking. She shut off her optics and drew in air to cool her system.

_Dad, please... You promised... You promised._

**************

"Maria, I want you with me on this one, alright?"

Maria looked at Chromia. She had never been asked to join an energon raid before.

"Me?"

"Yes, you. I need someone small to get through the pipelines."

Maria felt out of place among the femmes. Most had welcomed her in after Shockwave had pushed through the last autobot defenses, but some still felt she was dead weight.

"Where are we going?" she asked, looking at Chromia.

"We're going to search Tarn. Who knows, maybe there are a few energon storage chambers that survived the photon bombs."

The trip to Tarn was quiet. Everyone kept radio silence to refrain from drawing attention. Tarn was Shockwave's city, and while he now resided near Iacon, he still kept an eye on areas he considered his own.

"Maria, we need you to crawl through here and open the door from the other side."

Maria looked at the crack in the wall that lead into a ventilation shaft. Her eyes shifted from Elita to Chromia and back. The other femmes looked at her in a way Maria could only decipher as curious. She got hold of herself and stepped forward. Firestar moved forward and gave Maria a hand so she could reach the opening.

She wasn't surprised that they had brought her along for this assignment. She wasn't sure the others could have crawled through the small tunnel. She could barely fit in herself, and she didn't have the same bulky armor as the other femmes.

She reached an opening and managed to kick it out of the socket.

"Are you alright?" Chromia asked.

"Yes, I'm okay. it was just the cover. I'm going to jump now."

She shuffled through the opening and allowed herself to fall. She had misjudged the altitude and landed on her shoulder with a hard thud. She bit down, holding back a yelp.

"Maria?"

She took a deep breath.

"I'm okay. Just a rough landing." She scrambled to her feet and looked around.

The place was dark. A black matter with only silhouettes visible in the muddled darkness.

"I'll try to find the door." She called, hearing her voice echoing off the walls.

It only took a moment for her to find her bearing enough to find the door. She unlocked the door and took a step back as the femmes pushed it open.

Maria covered her optics as the light from outside blinded her. The femmes brushed past her, and Maria wasn't even sure if they said anything. She was far too captivated by what she could see outside. She took a few unsure steps.

Gone were the fallen buildings, the scrap that covered the ground was no where to be seen. There was a playground. a child laughing on the swings.

_Higher!_

She took another step forward, toward the father and daughter at the swings. She wanted to reach out and touch him when someone screamed. The golden world was gone in a flash, replaced by the ugly gray and lifeless reality. And then she was on the ground, blasters firing all around her. She covered her audio receptors and screamed, simply because she didn't know what else to do.

"I think we scared him off."

Maria looked up as Elita and Moonracer returned from their chase.

"Strange one. He was carrying a blade. Who in their right mind uses blades anymore?" Moonracer noted, looking up at Elita, who had her eyes fixed on Maria.

"What were you doing out in the open?"

Maria wasn't sure what she should say. That she had seen Tarn as it used to be? That she had seen her father? Her past? She wasn't even sure it was her past. It could have been anything. maybe she was just losing her mind.

Elita grabbed Maria by the wrist and pulled her closer.

"Do you have any idea the danger you put yourself in?"

Maria shook her head. She hadn't even realized she was in danger before she was on the ground with a roof of blaster fire above her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't see him!"

The apology didn't calm Elita down, it almost seemed to agitate her even further.

"Sorry doesn't cut it! it was pure luck that Chromia turned and saw him! If we had gone in any further, he would have sliced your head off! How can we trust you to be a lookout when you don't even see someone running at you!"

Maria looked down. Elita was right. She'd jeopardized the others as well as herself. But she really hadn't seen anything.

Elita ordered Moonracer to take Maria back to Iacon while the rest of them tried finding some energon.


	9. Goodbye

_It's raining... I'm not sure if it's a bad omen or not._

Maria was hiding behind a pile of scrap trying to make as little noise as possible. Shockwave's droids were pushing through the area, searching every building they could get to before they were going for their last assault on Iacon.

"Elita-1..." Maria tried the radio, but to her dismay, the signal was still dead.

An explosion rocked the foundation of one of the nearby buildings, causing the structure to tumble to the ground, drowning out all other sound.

Maria covered her head, still trying to contact the femme leader.

"Elita!! Anyone, please!"

A droid closed in on her location. Maria got to her feet and ran for a nearby building. Her cover was blown, but it didn't really matter anymore. If she couldn't get the signal to the others, Iacon was bound to fall into the hands of Shockwave.

Suddenly the whole world turned upside down. Maria's audio receptors were ringing, all other sounds a soft blur. She landed hard on her back and was sure at least a few of her bolts had been knocked loose.

Her optics processors rebooted, causing a blackout for a moment. The ringing was still there, though. She got back on her feet and tumbled into a building for cover.

She sat down against one of the walls, forcing her jumbled processes to reboot while she assessed the physical damage.

When her diagnostics had finished running, she opened her radio for another attempt to call the others. She was met with a furious Elita-1.

"What is your status! Why didn't you warn us? We've got battledroids all over the place!"

Maria called back.

"Radio contact was lost! i've been hailing you for ages!"

"What is your position?"

"Five mega-miles from Iacon. Over the other side of the pit. Just locate the source of whatever giant bomb just went off, I was next to it!"

"What are you doing sitting on your tailpipe then? Get over to the guardian chamber and release the heat! Elita-1 out!"

Maria grabbed onto a pipe that was sticking out of the wall and pulled herself up.

She was half a mega-mile from the guardian chamber. The guardians were locked in, and were usually released from Iacon command center, but Shockwave had managed to disconnect the guardians from Iacon.

The only other way to release the guardians was a pull-switch system to open the doors and activate the guardians at the same time.

Maria managed to make it to the chambers without running into any other droids.

She found the switch for the recharger and pulled it, watching the chamber energy levels rise to 100 percent.

She pulled the door switch and watched the giant doors slide open. She suddenly noticed that none of the debris around the doors moved. things had been tossed aside to unblock the door. She moved over to the door and found the guardians strewn around the hall, and every single energy chamber that was supposed to recharge the guardians had just been used to fully recharge Shockwave and his personal army, plus whatever number of droids he had brought along.

Maria turned to shut the doors again, but was stopped by a blow to her head.

"I must thank you for pulling the switch for me, little one." Shockwave gloated.

"I knew about your guardian chamber, and I knew you Autobot fools would never use the energon in here unless you were attacked directly. Fortunately for me, I might add."

Shockwave picked up the femme by her neck and held her up, almost as if he was studying some foreign object.

"I'll allow you to live for doing me this little favor."

He tossed her into the guardian chamber and pulled the switch for the doors. Maria looked at the doors as they slid closer together.

"No! Please don't leave me in here!" She screamed before the doors sealed shut, wrapping her in a thick darkness.

It felt like an eternity passed before the doors slid open again. Maria looked up and saw the familiar shape of Chromia's helmet.

"She's in here..."

Maria stood up and watched as Elita and the other femmes gathered in the doorway. She got up from the floor and walked out of the chambers.

"What happened?" Elita asked.

"Shockwave... He was waiting in there. They used the recharge chambers."

Elita looked at the others.

"That explains a lot."

Maria looked at the group.

"Iacon..."

Chromia shook her head. Maria looked down.

"Primus..."

"Why didn't you check the chambers before you recharged the guardians?"

Maria was taken aback by the question. It wasn't protocol to do that.

"The protocol..."

"This is war! Nobody follows the protocol!"

Firestar looked at Elita-1.

"Elita... She couldn't have known."

"She should have done it anyway! The lines were breached! Shockwave and his army rolled into Iacon like they were a slaggin parade, all because they got the guardian's energon!"

Elita-1 turned around and started walking.

"Let's go. We're going to the labs. I'm sure Alpha Trion will be thrilled to hear about this."

Maria looked as the other femmes started to move. It suddenly dawned on her that it wouldn't change. She was no warrior...

"No."

Elita stopped and turned, looking at Maria.

"What?"

"I'm not coming with you."

"Yes you are. We're moving out now!"

Maria shook her head.

"No."

Elita moved over to her, towering over the small femme, pushing one finger into her chest plate.

"Back in line, Maria!"

Again, she shook her head.

"I don't know where I'm going, but i'm not coming with you."

"Stop being a child!" Elita shouted.

"I'm not being a child! on the contrary, Elita! I'm unassigning myself from your group!"

Chromia tried to intervene.

"Maria, please. We need to get out of here."

Maria didn't take her optics off Elita.

"Then get out of here."

Elita turned around.

"Fine, if you want to be that way."

Elita and the other femmes moved away from Maria. Chromia grabbed onto Elita's shoulder.

"She's just a kid, Elita!"

Elita nodded.

"She'll come running in a moment, just watch."

"She's gone!" Moonracer shouted.

Elita turned and scanned the area, finding no trace of the small femme.

"Maria!"

Elita opened her radio and called into it. Firestar turned her head as Elita's voice echoed from where the small femme had left her radio unit before she disappeared.


	10. Bludgeon

Pardon me for taking so long, but I had immense trouble writing this chapter. I think I re-wrote it at least 7 times before I finally gaveup and just wrote something.

It's rather hurried, because it's just a transition chapter.

********************

"Come on, come on!"

Maria pulled the last energy bar through the vent and put it in the small cart she was dragging with her.

She was still searching for a ship that was in a good enough condition to get her off the planet.

After roaming Cybertron for a while, she had decided to search for the Ark and the autobots that had disappeared with it. She couldn't go back to the autobots and ask for a ship, since she knew they would ask her where she planned on getting the energy from.

And if she told them that she had almost found enough energon to search the galaxy, they would most likely demand that she handed it over and forgot about her plans.

After all, energy was better used in bots than in ships.

She stopped before a corner and slowly peered around, searching the area. She pulled back when she saw a figure moving near the entrance to the building she was occupying.

She could hear him scrambling around. Most likely in search of energon.

She cursed inside, knowing that if he found her stash, he would raid it and she would have to begin her search all over again.

She looked around the corner again, contemplating how she could lure him away from her impromptu home.

She hid the cart under a pile of rubble and looked after the intruder again. He was still trying to figure out how to get into the bunker.

Maria stumbled around the corner, causing a racket by tilting a few metal bars on the way. The plan was to get him to chase her. Then she could take cover in an old ventilation shaft, crawl through a secret hideout she had set up and get back to her energon before he had time to wonder where she had gone.

The intruder turned, glaring at her.

iTake the bait, damn you!/i she thought.

It worked. The mech chased after her. Maria ran as fast as she could toward the ventilation shafts she had planned on using.

But then a sharp pain shot through her body, causing her to tumble forward and land on her knees.

Confusion overtook her for a few moments until she looked to her left and saw a sharp sword sticking through her left shoulder. She reached to push it out when it suddenly twisted 90 degrees and a foot was placed between her shoulder blades, forcing her down on the ground.

"Who are you?" The intruder asked.

"Maria... I'm... I'm a rogue."

"I think you're lying. I've seen you with the Autobot femmes." He grinned, twisting the sword a little more, making her groan.

"No. I left the femmes." She gasped, her vocal component jumping from the pain.

He was silent for a moment before pulling the sword out and turning her around.

"Who are you?" She interjected before he could speak again.

"I am Bludgeon. But it is no concern of yours. I'll just kill you and continue what i was doing."

Maria remembered the name being mentioned in one of the archives.

"Wait!" She yelled as he raised the sword.

"I know where your comrades are!" She yelled before he struck. He stopped, watching her with an amused expression.

"Sure you do."

She nodded fiercely, knowing she had his interest.

"I know which planets they were shipped to as part of their banishment! I can help you find them."

He removed his foot, but held the sword under her chin.

"It doesn't do me any good. I have a ship, but there's not a scrape of energon left on this wretched planet."

"I have energon enough for a galaxy wide search! If you have a ship..."

It was an unstable alliance. Maria had hoped the mech would eventually warm up to her company. But the mech was still as cold and hateful as the first time he twisted the sword in her shoulder.

The ship was steering toward the planet, where the first of his five comrades had been banished to.

The ship was a small jet with two quarters, a common room and the cockpit.

Maria and Bludgeon had a quarter each. Maria hoped she would be able to keep her quarters when the ship became crowded, but she wasn't sure what would happen.

The only thing she was sure of, was that Bludgeon would kill her as soon as she revealed the location of his last comrade.

The mech spent most of his time training in the common room. Maria had tried to interact with him, asking him about his combat skills, but it had only annoyed him.

The beating she had received when she asked him to train her had been so severe, she was almost sure he intented to kill her.

After that, she kept quiet, just watching him train.

She was exuberant when she found his databank with the history and details of his choice of martial arts. Metallikato.

She downloaded everything from the databank and used every oppertunity to read about it. When he trained, she studied him. When he was steering the ship, she read.

When she recharged, she used a number of processes to analyze his movements, trying to compare them to the information in the databank. She ran tests, trying to see if the book or Bludgeon would win in a battle.

She had imagined that the mech would calm after she had led him to his first comrade, but after Stranglehold joined the ship, Maria was rarely spoken to.

She didn't mind, as it gave her much more time to study Bludgeon and the Metallikato.

After visiting a number of planets, hunting down the remaining team, they were only missing Spinister and Snarler.

Spinister had supposedly been smuggled to Lithone, where the trail ended.

Bludgeon landed the shuttle and left the ship with the information Maria had given him. When he was safely out of sight, Maria recorded a message on the ships computer and found Needlenose in the common room. He wasn't nearly as inapproachable as the others, but Maria guessed that it was because he was more... naive... than the others.

"Needlenose."

The mech turned in his chair and looked at her without saying anything.

"I need an oil change! Can you open the door so I can find Bludgeon and get him to escort me?"

He chuckled.

"Do you think i'm stupid? You're just going to run off."

"No, there is still one more of your team left. I promised Bludgeon I would tell him where your last comrade is, and I stick by my word."

Needlenose stood up and sized her up.

"Alright... I'll take you to get an oil change."

Maria smiled, moving her arms a bit.

"Great, I was beginning to feel a bit sluggish."

The lithone was more than happy to bid both of them into his shop. Maria watched Needlenose parade around, acting like he owned the place. One of the servants led her into private quarters and closed the door.

"Oil change?" The femme asked. Maria shook her head.

"Try an escape. I need to ditch that mech, and I need to ditch him fast."

The femme looked surprised.

"Well, you can use the window..."

Maria opened the window and turned to the femme.

"Wait in here for a while, then walk out, pretend i'm still here. When you come back in, act like I just left."

The femme nodded again.

"Are there any harbors nearby? any place I can hitch a ride off the planet?" Maria asked, sticking one foot out of the window.

"There's the shipping colony in sector X3."

"Thank you."

Maria swung the other foot out and jumped.

Bludgeon was furious when he got back to the ship. Needlenose had sought him out after he had tried finding the femme. Bludgeon yelled at the computer.

"Find the femme!"

The computer flickered and spoke.

"You have a message."

Bludgeon stopped,looking at the screen.

"What? Play it!"

An video message started playing.

"Hello Bludgeon. I guess you haven't been able to find me since you got the message to play. You can find your last comrade on Zel Samine, but I'd be cautious, since the electromagnetic field on the planet could cause you to crash. If I were you, I'd gear up for it."

She paused for a moment.

"I've held up my end of the bargain, Bludgeon. I told you where you can find your comrades. Now you can chose wether you want to chase after me, or find your last comrade. Doing both, is illogical. It would be a waste of energy. I hope you fare well."

Bludgeon stood still, watching the screen go blank. Needlenose watched his leader clenching and unclenching his fists.

Suddenly Bludgeon laughed.

Needlenose waited until Bludgeon stopped.

"Shall we pursue?" He asked gingerly.

Bludgeon turned and looked at him.

"No...Let her run."


	11. Earth

Searching an entire galaxy had taken its time.

She had spent years upon years trying to find any trace of the Autobots, all the while she had kept updated on the situation on Cybertron, which, she hated to admit, hadn't changed much in the years she had been absent.

She was rescanning the area where the Autobots had disappeared when a small bleep echoed through the room.

Maria, who had been calculating probable routes, threw herself over to the monitor and double checked the signal.

"The Ark!" She screamed, jumping up and down with glee. She tore herself out of her amusement and punched in the coordinates.

Of course, there was a high probability that the Autobots had ceased to function, but even if the Autobots were all offlined, she would still know.

And knowledge was her ultimate satisfaction.

her tour around the galaxies had been satisfactory. she had never really had a dull moment once she got to examine a planet closer.

She was readying the entry through Earth's atmosphere when the ship suddenly started shaking. Maria checked the levels and tried getting the ship positioned for a smooth entry, but the alarm sounded when she tried. the warning flashing across the screen.

Energon levels low. Shutdown immediate!

Maria cursed.

"No! Not now! We're almost there!"

She compiled a distress signal and sent it, hoping someone would get the signal. Decepticon or Autobot... it didn't really matter.

"Alert! Alert! Distress Signal received!"

Bumblebee hurried over to Teletraan-1 and punched in a few commands.

"Where is the signal coming from?"

A series of numbers ran over the screen.

"Signal transmission is coming from a vessel entering Earth's atmosphere."

Optimus Prime looked at the screen.

"Teletraan, can you tell us how many passengers there are in the vessel?"

Teletraan was silent for a moment.

"One life form... Cybertronian."

Bumblebee turned around and looked at Optimus Prime.

"Shall we intercept the vessel?"

Optimus pressed a few buttons on Teletraan, and looked back up at the monitor.

"Can you calculate the approximate landing site?"

"The vessel is going crash in the North Pacific Ocean. Would you like the exact Coordinates?"

"Yes, thank you."

Optimus turned around and looked at the surrounding Autobots.

"Jazz, Seaspray. I'm going to need your help."

Spike Witwicky, who had been standing next to Jazz, spoke.

"Optimus, can I come too?"

Optimus looked at their young human ally.

"Sure. Autobots, transform and roll out!"

******

Maria pulled the steering shaft back in a futile attempt to regain control of the aircraft.

The vessel had run out of energy on the way through the atmosphere. The last battery power had been used to send out the distress signal. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell if anyone had heard it.

The water below her came closer at an alarming speed.

"Come on, come on!" She yelled, still pulling the steering as hard as she could.

She knew that the impact could, in a worst case scenario, completely demolish the ship.

Maria could feel the steering shaft slipping through her fingers. She tried her best to hold on to it.

She was too close. She'd gotten the signal, she was on her way. She wanted to find her dad and her friends. It was not supposed to end like this. She did not want to die on this planet.

She covered her optics when the nose of the vessel finally made contact with the ocean and she was thrown forward into the controls. Every piece of metal in the ship screamed under the sudden stress, while water poured in through every crack in the ship.

The ship turned and rose to the surface, bopping up and down a few times before it started to sink into the murky water again.

******

"Did you see that, Optimus?" Seaspray yelled.

"Yes, It's only a few more miles to the crash site! We need to hurry before the ship sinks!"

Spike grinned, padding Jazz' dashboard.

"That was quite a landing, eh? The splash must have been at least 150 feet!"

"You're right, Spike! The ship must have taken quite a beating. let's hope the passenger is alright!"

Seaspray stopped and turned to look at Optimus.

"This is the crash site! The ship is about 300 feet down, should I pull it out of the water?"

"No, get down there and save the passenger! We can leave the ship for now."

Seaspray dove into the water, enjoying the chance to show off his aquarian skills.

Jazz stopped next to Optimus, allowing Spike a view of the crash site.

"Wow, are those parts of the ship?"

Optimus surveyed the wreckage.

"Yes. It looks like the wings were torn off..."

Seaspray called over the comm.

"I've found the ship's passenger. She's unconscious!"

Optimus looked at Spike and Jazz.

"Bring her up, Seaspray!"

"Did he say 'She'?" Jazz and Spike both asked.

"Yes... He did."

Spike leaned out the window.

"But I thought you said all the female Autobots wanted to stay on Cybertron?"

Optimus didn't look at Spike.

"Yes... But there were more femmes than..." Optimus fell silent.

"Than what, Optimus?" Spike asked. Optimus didn't answer.

Optimus tried to calm himself. Maria had disappeared so many years ago. The was no chance it was her. None at all.

Seaspray resurfaced, pulling the damaged femme up to the surface with him.

Optimus transformed, using the trailer as a raft. He gently pulled the femme up on the raft and knelt next to her, removing stray seaweed from her frame.

Optimus couldn't believe it. The small black and white femme was really her. For a moment, he wondered if he was offline, recharging... Maybe it was all a dream.

He checked her vital signs, relieved to find that she was still alive.

Jazz let Spike out and onto the raft. The boy moved closer to the female. She was differently built. Less bulky than the other femmes he had seen. Optimus hadn't spoken a word.

"Optimus... do you know her?"

"Yes... Spike. I know her."

"Maria..."

"Yes, Jazz."

Spike looked at Jazz.

"Maria? Isn't that a human name?"

"They're very similar. But in our old language, Maria means fragile." Jazz put his hand behind his head, looking down at Spike.

Spike looked back at Optimus, who had finished removing the seaweed from the femme.

"Who is she?"

"She is my daughter, Spike."

"What?"

Jazz transformed and climbed up on the raft, securing a chain to the trailer and tossed it to Seaspray.

"How can you have a daughter? I didn't know you... well... reproduced." Spike mumbled the last part.

"We do not reproduce in the same manner as humans. There are several ways to build new cybertronians. You have seen us build the Dinobots, they are tough and have personality. But they're not perfect. The Arialbots were built on earth, but their personality came from Vector Sigma. That is how you create adult soldiers with intelligence and personality. But Sparklings..."

Optimus sighed, taking his daughter's hand.

"Sparklings are built by one or two parental units. They are then infused with a little bit of their spark to give them life. Sparklings are made with love. I found Maria in a war-torn city. She was almost dead, and her parent was destroyed."

"But.. She is your daughter?"

Optimus looked at Spike.

"A sparkling can be created with just one parental spark. But a second spark will complete it. She was a half-spark when I found her. I adopted her by completing the process, giving her a part of my spark."

Spike looked down at the femme.

"Is she going to live?"

Optimus smiled behind the mask.

"Yes. her processes are rebooting. It may take a while before she starts up, but Ratchet will check her when we get back to base to make sure she doesn't have any internal damage."

*******

Maria's systems booted up and her optics focused on the ceiling above her.

"Ah, you're finally awake."

Maria recognized that voice. She turned her head and looked at the white medic standing next to her.

"Ratchet?" She grinned.

"None other! Just relax, I'll go get your father!"

Ratchet left the room and Maria sat up slowly, allowing her equilibrium sensors to recalibrate.

"Maria..." She turned her head and looked at her father. Behind him, a small pale creature followed. Optimus stood in front of her and offered her his hands. She gladly took them, allowing her father to help her down from the table.

"I can't believe you're here... Elita told me you vanished. I feared the worst."

It took a few moments for her to understand the language he was using. Her optics flashed as her system updated with the clumsy human language. Her translation processors recognized the language and readied her system for translation.

Maria wanted to say something. She had so much to tell, but didn't know where to start.

"I missed you..." She started, her optics falling down to the organic creature. She leaned over, staring at him.

"What... is that?"

Optimus laughed.

"I'm sorry. Maria, this is Spike. He's one of our human allies."

"You keep pets?" She looked up at Optimus.

Spike looked offended.

"We're not pets! We're helping the Autobots against the Decepticons."

Maria looked back at the flesh creature.

"Helping? With what? Your carbon based forms are hardly a match against any sort of weapon!"

"Maria! What kind of first impression is that?" Optimus laughed.

Spike rolled his eyes, mumbling.

"A bad one."

Maria didn't take her optics off the squishy one.

"No offense, but would you mind terribly if I had a moment alone with my father?"

Spike rolled his eyes again and left the room, unhappy with being exiled from the conversation.

Optimus sighed, looking at his daughter as she watched the human leaving the room.

"Maria... The people of this planet are our friends."

She finally looked up at him again.

"I'm sorry. I am not much for squishy creatures."

Optimus laughed.

"Elita told me you left Cybertron." He said, changing the subject.

"I did. Not entirely the way I imagined I would, but I managed to get away."

Optimus led his daughter out to the others.

"Tell me all about it!"


	12. Humanity

Maria had spent nearly two years on Earth when she found Optimus talking to the human named Sparkplug Witwicky.  
"Cancer?" Optimus asked. His tone was grim, indicating that whatever this cancer was, it wasn't something pleasant.  
"Yes. Pancreatic... The survival rate is.. Well, it doesn't look good."  
"Does Spike know?"  
"No, not yet. He knows I've been feeling under the weather, but I haven't told him how bad it is."  
They were silent for a while.  
"Sparkplug, if there's anything we can do... You know we'll do it."  
Sparkplug offered Optimus a half-smile.  
"I know..."  
Optimus watched Sparkplug leave. Maria felt a surge go through her system at the way Optimus was visibly saddened by the news.

"Dad?"  
Optimus turned by the sound of his daughter's voice.  
"Yes, Maria?"  
"What is cancer?"  
Optimus walked with his daughter.  
"The human body is an amazing mechanism. I know you disagree with this..."  
"On the contrary, dad. I find the human body fascinating. Mostly because of its contradicting nature. These creatures are incredibly fragile. It only takes very little force to kill them. They have no natural defense against predators, and yet they dominate this planet... While I dislike their basic structure, I find the idea of their existence fascinating."

Optimus gave her an overbearing look.  
"But, Maria, The humans have problems with their world, like we have with our world. One of their problems is the fact that their bodies sometimes, inexplicably, start fighting itself from the inside. Cancer is a multi-faceted disease... It comes in many varieties and Sparkplug... Well, he has a fatal variety. I fear he'll die soon."  
Optimus took in his own words, envisioning the world without his human friend.

"You knew this was only temporary, dad. These creatures have a short life expectancy, even if they remain healthy to the end." Maria reasoned, trying her best to both comfort and reason with him.  
"It is still so soon, even for a human. And I fear it will be a painful journey for him and Spike as well."

Three months later, Maria witnessed Optimus' words for herself.  
Sparkplug had received extensive chemo therapy, losing his hair in the progress.  
If he had been sick before, the supposed cure for the disease was harder than the disease itself. Sparkplug slept most of the time, and when he was awake he couldn't eat without vomiting everything up again.  
Nosebleeds were frequent, as well as rapid weight loss and jaundice

Maria was enjoying the sunshine outside the hospital where Sparkplug was admitted. Spike suddenly rushed out of the door and walked down to the parking lot. He didn't get into his car, but paced back and forth, rubbing his hands through his hair and kicking at pebbles.  
"Will it help?" Maria commented. Spike looked up. His eyes were red, and she could tell he was fighting back tears.  
"Of course it wont help!" He shouted.  
Maria looked around, hoping one of the other Autobots could swoop in and take over the situation.  
"He's in pain and all I can do is watch as he dies..."  
Maria watched the human sit down on the hood of his car.  
"I don't want him to die... I need him... I need him to be my best man when I get married... I need him to be a grandfather to my future kids."  
"The prognosis for your father's type of cancer is..."  
"I know it isn't good! But people beat the odds every day! Every single day... Why can't he be one of them? I mean, he's survived your war so far! Why this? It doesn't make any sense."  
"I wish I could give you a logical answer." Maria said, getting up from the ground.  
"But I can't. I can only tell you that you should be there to support your father. If he is going to expire, wouldn't you want to spend every moment with him when you have so few left?"  
Spike looked up at the femme. She didn't look at him.  
"I know loss, Spike. I've seen it many times, and regret is a substantial part of it. You ask yourself if you could have done something differently, why you didn't do this and that. Not everything I have seen and heard can apply to your situation, but I can tell you that what you just said... I'm not the person you should tell it to."  
Spike looked at her for a while, then he nodded, wiped his eyes and smiled.  
"Okay..." He walked toward the door. As he grabbed the handle, he turned and looked at Maria again.  
"Thanks..."  
She looked at him.  
"Don't mention it, I just offered my best advice."  
Spike nodded and walked back inside the hospital.

Three months later, in the autumn, Sparkplug looked at his son with a faint smile.  
"It's been good to have you here, son." He whispered.  
"Anything for you, dad." Spike took the glass of water from the bedside table.  
"Are you thirsty?"  
Sparkplug shook his head.  
"No... I'm just really tired. I just want to sleep."  
Sparkplug closed his eyes and felt as Spike took his hand.  
"Dad..."  
"Yes?"  
"It's okay to let go... If you can't do this anymore. It's okay."  
"Thanks. I'm just going to sleep now..."  
Less than an hour later, Spike informed the Autobots that his father had finally found peace.

Sparkplug was buried three days later, with all the Autobots attending.  
Maria stood next to Optimus as he delivered a touching eulogy.  
As the casket lowered into the ground, Spike collapsed into tears. The realization that his father would never come back hit him like a ton of bricks. Carly embraced him, trying her best to help him through his grief.

Spike was standing in Wheeljack's workshop, looking at his father's tools. They had collected a substantial amount of dust since Sparkplug became ill. He brushed the dust away from a hammer and took it, weighing it in his hands.  
"How are you feeling?"  
Maria had seen him as she passed the workshop. Against her better judgment, she felt sorry for the human. Even if she wasn't fond of humans, she understood his loss.  
"I feel... terrible, actually." He said, putting the hammer down.  
"It just hit me today, that I'll never see him again."  
Maria sat down on the table and looked at the human as he touched the tools one after another.  
"Spike... I know this isn't the same situation, but I've lost a parent twice."

Spike looked up at the femme.  
"I thought Optimus was your father?"  
She nodded.  
"He is my father. But when he disappeared, I thought I had lost him. I spent 4 million years looking for him and the others..."  
"That's a lot of time."  
"Some say ignorance is bliss. I prefer knowledge over ignorance. I never gave up, and you shouldn't either."  
"But Optimus was alive. I know my father is dead." Spike swiped his hand over the table and accidentally knocked over a bottle of water on the table. He raised it back up in a hurry and wiped the water off the table with his sleeve.  
"I know, Spike. But he's still with you, isn't he? You came here to look at the tools... Why?"  
Spike looked at the disorganized table.  
"I guess... I guess I just wanted to feel close to him somehow."  
Maria nodded.  
"Your father lives on inside you, Spike. He's always there. He'll be there when you need him, even if you can't see him. Pardon the cliche, but he lives on through your memories. Keep finding things that remind you of him, and he'll be with you."  
Spike grabbed one of the tools.  
"Dad was helping Wheeljack with an invention just last year. I remember they couldn't make it work, and Dad threw this at it and suddenly it worked... For about three seconds, and then it blew up, covering both of them in dust..."

Spike let out a sob and put the tool back on the table.  
"It... just hurts so much to think about him."  
Maria nodded, poking at one of Wheeljack's inventions on the table.  
"Of course it does. But trust me, the pain will disappear in time. And then he'll be a happy memory."  
Spike wiped his eyes and smiled at her.  
"Thanks again."  
She shrugged and got off the table.  
"You're welcome, Spike."


	13. Marriage

Thanks a million times to Armadria for allowing me to borrow her characters; Sprocket and Axle. You're a doll!

you can find armadria on deviantart. her address there is

Her stuff is awesome!

"We're getting married!"

The announcement made the Autobots cheer and congratulate the humans. Carly showed them the so-called engagement ring on her hand. Maria was surprised by the custom.

"You gave her a carbon allotrope?" She looked at Spike.

"Well, it's a diamond." He laughed.

Maria gave him an odd look.

"Why?"

"Well, it's like they say. Diamonds are a girl's best friend."

"I've heard this expression, but why are you giving her this?"

Optimus broke in with a laugh.

"Maria, it's a token to show that they are getting married."

"Why is this such a cause for celebration? I mean, I read that every second of these marriages ends in termination."

Optimus gave Spike and Carly an apologetic look before he led Maria away from the crowd. Allowing the Autobots to resume their congratulations.

"I'm sure Spike and Carly are going to be just fine."

Optimus led Maria outside.

"What is marriage?" She looked at him.

"Well, it's a union between two humans. It's close to how we find bondmates."

Maria looked up at him.

"And how do we find bondmates?"

Optimus looked at her.

"Well... I guess..." He walked a little faster, letting her trail behind.

"You haven't read up on earth customs?" He suddenly said.

"No. It disinterests me."

"You should try, at least."

"I would rather learn about our customs. I've been out of the loop, so to speak."

Optimus chuckled.

"First things first. Read about Earth and try to be a little more friendly toward our human allies."

"I'm sorry, dad. But I just can't see why you like them so much. They're resourceful, yes. But also highly unimaginative. They hardly made any progress before you came and practically gave them everything they needed!"

Maria looked at her father. He had that stern look again. He always seemed to glaze over when she ranted about the humans.

"We didn't give them weapons." He said, looking at her.

"I know. They're experts at killing each other already, no need to speed up the process."

They were silent for a while, but kept walking. Optimus suddenly put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"I'm happy you're here, Maria."

She smiled. Despite their differences, she loved and admired him. Of course, there were also times where she wanted to scream in frustration about his protective demeanor.

"It was a bit of a journey to get here."

"How are you getting along with the others?"

"We're okay, I guess. They all seem to be very fascinated with earth. I have to admit that the planet is beautiful, but it doesn't measure up to Cybertron."

"You want to go back?"

"I want to rebuild it. I want the war to end. I don't care how, I just want to go home..."

Optimus gave her a squeeze.

"Don't worry, when Megatron has been defeated, we'll return to Cybertron and go back to the way things were."

Maria looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"We'll re-establish the system, rebuild Cybertron and everything will be back to normal."

"You want the regime to return?"

"You don't?"

She shook her head.

"I fear that system was too prone to corruption. It was the same system that birthed a civil war after all. It was the system that created your nemesis, was it not?"

"I'm sure the Senate could have handled things better, but everyone learns from mistakes, don't they?"

She shrugged.

"Wouldn't it be better if the system was ruled by one whose word is law? Someone who cannot be compromised or bribed?"

Optimus laughed.

"You mean like a dictator with morals?"

"Yes."

Optimus stopped and looked at her. She was dead serious.

"You can't be serious... Why not just let Megatron win then?"

"Because, as you so delicately have put it, he is controlled by greed or some other selfish motive. He wouldn't be above bribery, would he?"

Optimus sent her an odd look.

"I can't see if you're serious or not..."

She smiled and kept walking.

* * *

"What are you reading?" Maria looked up from her holopad and saw the Autobot Mirage smiling at her.

"A book on Earth customs... Optimus thought I should familiarize myself a little more with humans."

Mirage smiled and motioned for the empty seat next to her, asking permission to join her. She nodded and he sat next to her.

"And how does it find you?" He inquired.

"Dull." She confessed, putting the holopad away.

"Not too interested in earth? I find that surprising, given who your father is."

She was about to indulge the fact that she had been on her own for quit a long time, and had spent time finding her own opinions, but she merely smiled.

"I guess that's a bit of a shock to some. I've been traveling for quite a while. It's been a while since I spent time with any Cybertronians."

He seemed genuinely interested in what she had to tell, so she decided to continue.

"Earth is beautiful and humans are interesting entities, but I miss Cybertron more than anything. I miss flying around Iacon... And reading in the libraries."

He nodded.

"I know what you mean. I'm here on a mission with the others, but the war and all the fighting disinterest me."

Maria felt elated, finally there was another one who felt like she did. Even though she had been on earth for a few years, she hadn't had must of a chance to interact with all the Autobots on a one-to-one basis.

"So, you just want to return to Cybertron?" She asked.

"Why, of course. I miss my old life. I mostly joined the Autobots because the time was right for me to do so. I had no interest in leaving Cybertron, but I was picked for the mission, and so of course I had to oblige."

"I think I understand what you mean. I have never been a fighter, but I guess Optimus and Elita-1 both thought it would be best for me to learn, but I just never did. In the end it was just right for me to break away from the femmes on Cybertron. I was really no help to them."

"So that's why you were not among the femmes on Cybertron... You must have some stories to tell if you have traveled for all this time."

"I have my share of tales to tell, but I am no storyteller, I'm afraid they'd sound terribly dull to someone who has spent so many years at war."

Mirage grinned.

"I cannot imagine anything sounding dull when it comes from your mouth."

Mirage stood up and took her hand.

"I am afraid I must take my leave, but I'd love to chat with you some other time."

Maria nodded and for a moment he looked as though he would kiss her hand, but he merely gave it a little squeeze before he took his leave.

"What do you know about Mirage?"

Maria looked at Sprocket, another femme who had joined the Autobots on earth before Maria had arrived.

"Mirage?" Sprocket moved a little closer to Maria.

"Why? Are you interested?" Sprocket nudged Maria in the side before continuing.

"I know he's like a noble or something, but exactly which clan, I can't say. He seems nice, but most around here agree that he'd probably join the Decepticons if it meant he could stay on Cybertron."

Maria looked at the holopad again.

"He seems nice enough, though. It's just that he started talking to me the other day. He and I seem to agree on a few issues. But interested... I don't know. He's not a bad-looking bot."

"He's definitely not the worst catch around here." Sprocket said, looking over at Grimlock with a chuckle.

"That's true!" Maria said, a laugh escaping her otherwise serious demeanor.

"He is nice," Sprocket continued, absently letting her gaze drift around the room to settle on a smaller figure tucked near the wall, "but I've already got the one for me." She waved at Axle to get his attention.

Axle saw her and waved back. But Sprocket could tell he was unsure if they were talking about him or not.

"It must be nice to have someone like that." Maria remarked, looking at Axle.

"Hey, get your own!" Sprocket joked, elbowing the black and white femme in the side.

"No, I don't mean like that. I mean... You told me that you and Axle just knew that you were right for each other. How did you know?"

Sprocket appeared thoughtful for a moment. "That's a good question. I'm not really sure."

"You're not sure?" Maria tried to keep the surprise out of her voice.

The blue femme laughed. "It was very awkward at first. I noticed right away that Axle liked me."

"How?"

"He couldn't stop staring at me when he first met me, and would grin this cheesy little grin whenever he saw me after that."

Maria laughed, shooting a glance at Axle, who was definitely staring at the two femmes from afar with a puzzled look on his face. "But how did YOU know? Did your fuel pumps pound? Did you feel drawn to him?"

Sprocket grew quiet, her optics growing pensive. "Not...in the traditional sense. It was funny. At first I wasn't quite sure what to make of him. Sure, he was super cute, but he was a nervous wreck all the time and couldn't seem to pull things together. But then the more I saw him, the more I realized I didn't want to leave him. That I wanted to be near him all the time. His voice grew on me. His touch became gentle. He made me laugh when I hadn't found reason to laugh for a long time." She glanced at Maria, smiling a little. "It's different for everyone. As long as you don't plan it out beforehand, you'll be surprised to who love can draw you to."

Maria thought it over for a while, then she returned to her holopad.

"I'm guessing that this whole love thing is quite illogical. I'm not sure I can see myself like that, even if it does sound nice to have someone who loves you."

Sprocket felt a small amount of sympathy for Prime's daughter. She was nice, but she had a sort of emotional handicap. Coupled with the fact that her social skills were lacking. An unfortunate byproduct of having spent so much time in space. Sprocket looked up and saw Mirage approaching them.

"Well, if he asks, then you should at least drive with him. He might show you a good time, if nothing else."

"I don't drive..." Maria noted, earning herself a laugh from Sprocket.

"Fly, then. Just have fun, for Primus' sake!"

Sprocket got out of her seat and made a bee-line for Axle, who was looking more and more like a question mark.

Maria looked at Mirage, who was still coming closer. No, he was not a bad catch at all. He was both attractive and intelligent. He also seemed like he was a good conversationalist.

Maybe she should give him a chance.

"Good afternoon, Maria." Mirage smiled, extending his hand in greeting.

"Perhaps you would allow me to show you a little of earth?"

Maria looked at his hand for a moment before she finally took it.

"Sure... I'd love to."

* * *

7 months and 13 days later, Spike and Carly were married. The ceremony was simple. Most of the Autobots attending. Bumblebee was exuberant that he had been picked to be the best man.

Maria had declined all invitations to join the ceremony as a bridesmaid, but had promised she would be present at the wedding ceremony and the party that came after.

"It was a beautiful ceremony, don't you think?" Mirage said, holding Maria's hand. She had to agree. Wedding ceremonies were a beautiful spectacle, even if the odds were against the married couple from the beginning.

"Yes, it is. Not a lot of the traditions make sense, but they're very romantic."

Mirage looked at her.

"Would you care to dance with me?"

She laughed at his proposal, but nodded.

"Okay, I'll dance."

Optimus allowed Mirage to have two dances with his daughter before he broke in.

"Mind if I cut in?" He said, tapping Mirage on the shoulder.

"Of course, Sir." Mirage said, stepping aside to let Optimus take over.

Maria danced a little with her father, casting a glance over at the married couple every now and then.

"They look happy..." She said, turning back to look at Optimus.

"They are happy. And for the record, so am I."

Maria would have raised an eyebrow, is she had been equipped with them.

"Why?"

"Because you're having fun. And you're socializing more with the others. Sprocket says you're warming up to the others."

"Everyone is your little personal nanny-cam?" She laughed.

"Hey, I'm still your father. I can't help it. You'll always be my little sparkling. No matter what."

Maria gave him a hug.

"I know."

He was quiet for a moment.

"How are things with you and Mirage?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"They are well. But I guess you're not just trying to make small talk."

Optimus stopped dancing and started to walk with her. They walked outside the Ark and Optimus looked up at the stars.

"Mirage came to me and asked if I would give him my permission to court you."

"I thought we were already a pair, he and I?" Maria asked.

"Yes, but I mean. He asked me if I would be okay with him asking you to become bonded to him."

Maria was silent for a while.

"Bonded? You mean... like you and Elita?"

He nodded.

"Oh... Well... Aren't you the wrong person to ask?"

Optimus laughed.

"You're right. I guess I'll have to tell him to ask you. But I just want you to know that I'm okay with it. I know some of the others don't fully trust Mirage, but I picked him to join the Ark because I do trust him."

Maria nodded and Optimus took her hand.

"Come, let's go back to the others."

Optimus turned and led Maria back to the festivities.


	14. Disjointed Mirage

"We're getting closer to the Decepticon camp." Mirage said, stopping his trek through the forest.

He turned and looked at Maria, who had been following behind him.

"What's your plan then?"

"Well, I'm going to switch on my invisibility shield, and then I'll get as close to their camp as I can without setting off any alarms."

"And what do I do?" Maria said, looking at Mirage as he vanished in front of her eyes.

"I want you to stay here. I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't do anything reckless, all right?"

Maria gave him an offended look.

"You want me to just sit here and wait for you to return?"

Maria felt him take her hand and give it a gallant kiss.

"I'll return shortly, no need to fear."

She could hear him move away. She took the time to study the animals that rustled around between the trees. Then she studied the different kinds of trees within her visual proximity.

After that, she finally got up and started to walk in the direction of the Decepticon camp.

"Mirage?" She called softly, trying not to draw any unwanted attention.

There was no reply, so she kept walking. She reached a clearing in the treees and walked into the sun, having eyed a large tree she wanted to get a closer look at.

She took a few moments to study the bark, determined to bring a sample of the tree back to the Ark for studying. She wanted to see if energon could be extracted from living materials, like trees and other plants.

She had just cut off a small branch when she heard a snap behind her. She turned, expecting to see Mirage.

"It was about time..." she stopped when she saw someone else.

He was coming out behind the trees, almost as if he had been waiting for some poor spark to step into his trap. She recognized him easily. Both from images and that one time on Cybertron. He'd been so close to touching her back then. She wasn't even sure if it had been a dream.

Soundwave...

He moved closer. Slowly. Like he was almost afraid to scare her away. Maria backed up a step but felt the tree blocking her path. He stood in front of her, studying her like he had never seen her before. He raised his hand to touch her. Maria's fuel pump was flooding her system. Every cylinder pumping so hard, she was sure her systems were going to crash.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Mirage's voice cried out.

Soundwave was tackled. He staggered five steps to the right and tumbled into the grass, knocking over small trees in the process.

The Decepticon got to his feet and she could tell he was assessing the situation. Mirage landed another punch. Soundwave staggered back, but kept on his feet, still staring at her.

Another punch. Then a kick. The Decepticon didn't fight back, but Maria could tell that he wasn't just taking the beating for the heck of it.

A part of her wanted to warn Mirage, but another part of her was thirsting for knowledge. She wanted to see...

Soundwave took two more hits before he suddenly lashed out and hit Mirage square in the gut, causing the invisibility shield to malfunction. Mirage found himself visible, and at an elevated tactical disadvantage. Soundwave turned and fired his shoulder cannon, hitting Mirage in the shoulder.

Mirage fell back, but got back up in a split second.

"Run, Maria!" He screamed, firing his gun at Soundwave. The shot missed, but lent Mirage a moment's distraction to jump at Soundwave, landing a punch in the Decepticon's face.

Soundwave blocked the next punch, grabbed Mirage's arm and twisted it around, forcing Mirage to his knees. He tore the Autobot's arm upward, breaking the shoulder joint. Mirage screamed from the sharp pain, locking his optics on Maria.

She stared at them, her optics moving from Mirage to Soundwave. Her fuel pump was working overtime again. But for some reason, she had no fear. A powerful feeling swept through her as Soundwave looked at her, still holding on to Mirage's arm to keep the Autobot from escaping.

They all stood there for a moment, the forest silenced around them. Then Soundwave suddenly released his grip and kicked Mirage in the back, forcing the Autobot face first into the dirt. He stood up straight, looking at the broken Autobot beneath him.

Mirage was expecting a shot to the head, but the Decepticon started walking toward the femme. Mirage got up on his elbow, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through his bust shoulder. He grasped for his weapon, but it was out of reach. He wanted to reach out to Maria, but he found that he couldn't use his right arm. The Decepticon had torn it from the socket, severing the hydraulics.

Maria realized she was holding back her air intake as the Decepticon closed in on her. He stopped next to her and turned his head, looking directly into her optics. He nodded, almost as if he told her they would meet again. Maria couldn't see if it was a threat or a promise. Then, without a word, he walked away.

"Maria!" Mirage called, throwing Maria out of her daze. He had gotten to his feet, and was staggering toward her. She held out her hands to help him, but he declined it and kept walking.

"We have to get out of here before he comes back with the rest of the Decepticons."

***********

"There you are, Mirage. Good as new!"

The chief medic closed the panel on Mirage's back and tightened the screws.

"Thanks Ratchet!" Mirage said, moving his arm back and forth to test the medic's work.

"What about you, Maria. Are you sure you don't want me to check your systems?"

She nodded.

"I'm fine. He didn't even touch me."

Optimus came through the door, making his way over to the femme.

"Are you alright?" he asked, obviously concerned for her welfare.

Maria pushed away his hands, tired of the constant inspection.

"Yes, I'm fine. If you have to worry about someone, worry about Mirage. The Decepticon nearly tore off his arm!"

Mirage straightened his back when Optimus turned to look at him.

"Are you all right, Mirage?" Optimus asked. Maria used the opportunity to slip off the table and out of medbay.

It only took three minutes and six seconds for Sprocket to turn up outside the Ark.

"Hey, Maria! I heard you two were attacked. What happened?"

Maria didn't know if she could tell Sprocket the whole story. She'd only been scared for a split second when Soundwave hurt Mirage's arm, but she hadn't been the least bit afraid of the Decepticon.

"I was stupid. I tried finding Mirage, because I was afraid he had gotten into trouble. But Soundwave found me instead. He was moving toward me when Mirage attacked him."

Sprocket got Maria to sit down.

"What happened then?"

Maria recapped the fight briefly.

"And then he just released him and walked by me as if he was just passing by. He stopped to look at me, but he didn't do anything."

"That's very odd... Last I heard, Soundwave wasn't one to treat his victims lightly."

"I don't know. I'm not even sure..." Maria silenced herself, not wanting to indulge too much information. Unfortunately, Sprocket had already caught on.

"Sure of what?"

Maria started walking away from the base, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"He just didn't seem dangerous. I know he's dangerous! I saw him hurting Mirage, but I'm not entirely convinced he was going to hurt me."

Sprocket slapped the back of Maria's head.

"Ow!"

"Have you rattled your screws? He's Megatron's most trusted man. He was probably going to tear you limb from limb!"

Maria rubbed the back of her head, shooting Sprocket an offended look.

"I know, I'm not an idiot."

"Next time you run into a Decepticon, just run away." Sprocket said.

"I get a feeling you speak from personal experience." Maria noted.

Sprocket nodded.

"I do... As little damage as they have caused here on Earth, so far... I know first hand that the Decepticons are dangerous. Just trust me, okay?"

"Of course..."

"Maria, do you have a minute?" Mirage interrupted. Sprocket smiled to Maria and took off.

"I'll see you later." She said before walking back to the Ark.

Maria walked with Mirage for a few minutes. She touched his arm.

"How is your arm?"

Mirage smiled, always the gentleman.

"I'm back to normal. I do hope you weren't too frightened about the whole ordeal."

"Oh, don't worry about me."

Mirage stopped walking and turned to her.

"Maria... We've been together for a while now."

Maria suddenly got a sinking feeling in her chest.

"Yes, we have indeed."

Mirage took her hands and smiled.

"We have a lot in common. We share the same ideals and we both long to return to Cybertron. You want the planet rebuilt, and I want to reclaim my heritage. I want to share everything with you."

He took a step closer.

"I want to share my life with you. I want to ask you if you want to be mine."

Maria thought about it. Mirage was kind and loving. They were a good match indeed. Very agreable. He could support her and protect her if she wished him to.

"What will your objective be if I say yes?"

Mirage looked confused, but he quickly composed himself.

"I'll swear that I'll never put you in a situation that compromises your safety. I'll protect you and guide you. I'll do my best to keep you happy."

Maria looked down on his hands.

"Mirage... You're wonderful and kind and we agree on many things."

She could see his shoulders fall.

"But?" He asked.

"But I need to make my own mistakes. I value knowledge above all. Trial and error is my creed. I have never wanted anyone to protect me and save me from the world around me. Can you accept this? Can you say that you will let me step into the unknown and not interfere until I ask you to? Can you watch me fall and not catch me?"

Mirage shook his head.

"You're worth protecting, Maria."

She sighed and looked back up at him.

"I don't want a savior, Mirage. I want someone who will treat me an an equal. Someone who will understand me and challenge me."

She took her hands out of his.

"And I'm afraid you're not him. I'm sorry Mirage, but I'm not the right one for you."


	15. Welcome Daniel

7 months passed since Mirage and Maria's encounter with the Decepticon communications officer.  
Following the break-up, Maria had gone back to researching Earth.  
Mirage had avoided her ever since. Luckily, all gossip surrounding their break-up had been quickly quieted by the revelation that Spike and Carly were expecting their first child.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? I can stay home, if you want me to." Spike said, hugging his pregnant wife.  
"I'll be fine, Spike." She said with a laugh.  
"I'm not the first woman to be pregnant, and I won't be the last."  
Spike nodded and touched her belly.  
"No, you're right. And you're in good hands."

"I would like for you to help Carly with her research while we're gone."  
Maria looked at Ratchet.  
"What? You want me to socialize with..."  
"Maria, It's just a few hours. Besides, you were doing so well a few month ago. You really should get back on track."  
"Back on track?" She said, obviously offended. Ratchet turned away and resumed welding the replacement armor he had been working on. Maria continued.  
"I thought I had mentioned it before, Ratchet. I do poorly with humans."  
Ratchet threw down the welder and turned abruptly.  
"You do poorly with humans, you can't fight, you can't do repairs, you roam around the base doing nothing, all the while you have your face buried in a datapad. What are you good for?"  
He immediately looked as though he wanted to swallow his words. Maria sighed and turned away.  
"I'll babysit your human, but don't count on me making friends with it."  
"Maria, wait..." The medic tried, but the femme ignored him and disappeared out of medbay.

Babysitting had been a very generous phrase. The first few hours, Carly had her nose buried in various books. She quietly experimented with the energon samples she had been given, only taking a break to relieve herself or find something to eat.  
It wasn't until a silent 6 hours had passed, that Carly suddenly made a surprised noise and dropped an empty beaker she had just rinsed.  
"Oh dear." She muttered, holding her hands to her stomach in obvious discomfort.  
"What's wrong?" Maria asked, putting her data pad down.  
"Oooh." Carly groaned. She rubbed her stomach for a few moments, inhaling through her nose and out of her mouth.  
"It's nothing. I think it was a contraction." Carly laughed as she looked at the puzzled femme.  
"Contraction? Doesn't that mean you're giving birth?" At least she remembered a few details from her human studies.  
"Well, it means that something is happening, but don't worry, I don't think it was more than a prelude."  
Maria nodded and resumed reading her data pad. She was researching the political evolution of her planet and she had gotten to a rather fascinating passage on the birth of the senate, when Carly suddenly gasped and knocked over a full beaker of raw energon.  
The liquid poured over the battery that powered the workbench. The battery short circuited and sent out a tall pink flame.  
The laboratory's fire alarm went off and sealed the door. Maria got on her feet and hurried over to the alarm to turn off the infernal racket the siren was causing. Carly grabbed the fire extinguisher and hosed the flames on her desk.

"I'm so sorry about that." Carly said as she put the extinguisher down by the desk.  
"I guess I should call it a day..." She rubbed her stomach, grimacing all of a sudden.  
Maria was only too happy to see the human to her quarters, but as she punched in the security code for the fire doors, the panel bleeped three times and went blank.  
"What?"  
Carly looked at the femme.  
"What, what?"  
"It seems as if the panel malfunctioned."  
Carly moved over and looked. She couldn't help herself from pushing the large pads a couple of times to confirm that the femme was right.  
"Well, now what? Can you call the others to get them to help us out?"  
"Negative. Radio silence has been initiated for their mission. I couldn't even if I wanted to."  
Carly started pacing back and forth. Maria resumed reading her data pad.  
Half an hour passed by with Carly making an occasional noise. All of a sudden, it sounded like Carly emptied a bucket of water on the floor. Maria tilted her data pad to check on the damage, but found Carly had simply... wet herself?  
"Carly?" Maria inquired, not entirely sure what she should say. Carly turned her head toward the femme.  
"I think my water just broke."  
"Why are you carrying water in your clothing?" Maria managed to ask before an alarm in her memory banks went off. Broken water meant imminent childbirth.  
"Wait, you're going to give birth... NOW?"  
"I hope not! I don't want to give birth here!"

Maria grabbed the radio and hailed the Autobots. After a few minutes without any reply, she got up and walked over to the door and tried to reboot the keypad.  
"Come on..." She muttered, under her breath. Carly shrieked and plopped down on the floor, clutching her stomach.  
"Oh no! Please tell me you can get it to work! I told my doctor I needed at least three epidurals!"  
"Technically, you'd only need one epidural, three would be redundant."  
"I KNOW THAT!" Carly half growled, half screamed.  
Maria returned her attention to the keypad. She opened the panel and tried to ascertain the reason for the malfunction.  
A few minutes passed before Carly made another noise.  
"Oh no! Oh no, no no!" She sounded labored, so Maria gave up the panel and tried the radio again.  
"Are they answering?"  
"No. They're still maintaining radio silence."

Carly held her breath and became red-faced before she suddenly screamed again.  
"Oh god, I think he's on his way!"  
"What?"  
Now it was Maria's turn to panic. The very thought of a birth in the lab with her as the only assisting force was too much to handle.  
"Oh no, you don't!" Maria muttered. "You can't possibly be serious!"  
"Hey, If you think the idea of you as my midwife pleases me at all, then you'rAaarggh... sorely mistaken."

Maria gently picked up the woman and put her down on the table.  
"Let me get some clean water. And I think we have something to wrap him in when he arrives."  
Maria gathered the items she needed and made sure Carly was comfortable on the table.

"Are you contracting?" Maria asked.  
"Yes I am!"  
"Then I guess you should start pushing."  
Carly took a few deep breaths and pushed.  
"I think I can feel him moving. Oh God, I hope he's facing the right way."  
Maria took one of Ratchet's instruments and looked at Carly.  
"This is for finding faults in a bot's electrical system. I'm going to try it on you."  
"Why?" Carly groaned and leaned back against the blankets Maria had propped up behind her.  
"Because it might help me measure your son's heartbeat."  
Maria put the instrument to Carly's abdomen and listened.  
"Works well enough. His heartbeat is a little faster than I'd like, but I don't think it's cause for alarm."  
Carly pushed again, causing blood and amniotic water to pour onto the table. Maria took a step back, sickened by the display.  
"Oh Primus, you creatures are nasty!" She exclaimed, clutching the instrument she had been holding.  
"Man up, you sissybot!" Carly screamed and pushed again.  
"Maria looked down and realized that the baby was crowning.  
"One more push, Carly." She muttered and took a step closer.  
Carly grabbed on to the blanket and pushed again, causing the head to literally pop out. Maria winced and put the instrument down.  
"You have to grab the head, Maria. I don't want him to hit the table!"  
"You have to be kidding me! I am not touching that!"  
"Just do it you overgrown tin-can!"  
Maria reached down and caught the boy. Carly pushed one more time and the child gently slipped out as soon as the shoulders had passed. Maria passed the child on to Carly and watched her as she awed over the tiny, gooey, human.  
Maria cut the umbilical cord and handed Carly a blanket to cover herself and the child with.  
It was only a few moments later that the afterbirth arrived and at the same time, the door to the laboratory opened and Spike and Optimus entered.

"Thank God you're alright! We've been trying to hail you for the past hour!" Spike exclaimed before he saw Carly sitting with his son in her arms.  
Maria watched the humans as they practically beamed with love for the new little fleshling.  
Optimus put his hand on her shoulder.  
"I'm proud of you."  
"Thanks. But I'm never doing that again."  
They both watched the humans in silence.  
"It's remarkable... This sort of unconditional love they're giving their child."  
Optimus nodded.  
"It's what a parent does."  
Maria looked at him, a brief look of pain flashing through her optics. Optimus didn't notice.  
"Why did you take me in back then?"  
Optimus looked at her.  
"You would have died if I hadn't."  
"But you gave me a piece of your spark. Why?"  
"It was necessary to save you from being sent to Uraya."  
"So it wasn't really an act of love?"  
Optimus turned his face away.  
"Not at first no. But I love you like you're my own. The fact that I didn't build you means nothing."  
Maria nodded and left the laboratory.


	16. Science unFair

"Can I please come along, please dad!"

Maria did her best to look as wide-eyed and sweet as she possibly could. A gesture that made Optimus laugh.

"Of course. If it really means that much to you. I just want you to stay out of harms way, and please don't insult our hosts."

"I'll be good!" Maria exclaimed. The science fair was the biggest event of the year. She'd read about it, and some of the projects that were being presented sounded delightful. She wanted to discuss the possibility of using energon as a clean source of energy with the humans. She had great ideas for renewable energy sources since she started studying organic materials.

Maria had returned to Optimus' side after a hearty discussion with some of the earth scientists.

"Did you have fun?" He asked, evidently smiling behind the mask.

"Yes. They had some fresh perspective. It would be fun to sit down and do some research with some of them."

"Maybe that can be arra..." Ironhide came running, interrupting their conversation.

"Prime, we've got Decepticreeps closing in from the south!"

"Out! Everyone out!" Optimus yelled.

The whole science fair was in uproar. Every guest trying to find a nearby exit. Screaming and yelling, some nearly trampling others.

"Calm down!" Ratchet yelled, trying to help the unfortunate ones who weren't fast enough.

Maria surveyed the scene. She watched the autobots working swiftly, trying to ready the building for the oncoming attack.

Wheeljack and Perceptor were both working on releasing the power-converter, which had been the main attraction at the science fair. It had been bolted to the floor to keep terrorists from stealing it. Nobody had thought the Decepticons would attack when the Autobots were in the proximity.

Optimus put his hand on Maria's shoulder.

"You had better get out of here." He pulled out his rifle and looked at her.

"Be careful!"

With that, he ran out of the building to keep the Decepticons at bay.

Maria turned and looked at Wheeljack and his comrade.

"Go, Maria!" Perceptor yelled.

"You're located in a high risk perimeter. Immediate evacuation would be most perspicacious!"

Maria moved toward the exit that would lead to the far side of the building. She grabbed the handle and opened the looked down the hallway and realized that the Decepticon communications officer, Soundwave, was coming down the hall towards them. She shut the door and locked it, hoping it would at least slow the Decepticon.

She looked at the others who were still busy trying to release the converter. Wheeljack cursed about the use of so many tiny bolts.

Maria drew her sword and assumed her position in front of the door when she heard Soundwave pushing against the heavy metal doors. It only took a moment for him to kick the doors off the hinges. He looked at her curiously.

"This is what they plan to stop me with?"

Maria shook her head.

"No. I'm just here to slow you down."

Soundwave drew a sword from subspace.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you try!"

He charged, but Maria was faster and far more agile. She evaded his attack almost too easily. Soundwave turned, and she could tell he was pleasantly surprised. Like he had been given a toy that could do more than you'd think.

"Nice." He mused. "I'd like to see you do that again."

He charged again. Maria jumped, her sword clashing with his. She used his charge to flip over his head and land behind him.

This time, she could tell he wasn't as amused. He tried again, with the same result.

He swung his sword just as Wheeljack yelled.

"We've got it!"

Maria saw that as an opportunity. She came in close, evaded his swing and pulled out her dagger, swinging it directly into his side.

Soundwave pushed her away with a roar, causing her to tumble onto her back. She got up fast. Soundwave pulled the small dagger out of his side, watching a few energon drops dripping onto the floor. He raised his head and gave her a cryptic look.

She turned, just as Soundwave stalked after her. Wheeljack and Perceptor raised their firearms and blasted at the blue Decepticon.

Maria grabbed the power-converter, threw it into the air, transformed and hauled it into her cargo hold before she blasted through the windows above.

Optimus was already in hand to hand combat with the Decepticon leader when the windows crashed and Maria came flying across the battle field. Optimus looked up, shocked at the display. She should have gone quietly. Megatron threw himself at Prime, landing a punch in his face just as Soundwave called over the radio.

"The femme has the power convertor!"

Megatron looked at the seekers.

"Starscream, get that power-converter!"

Optimus yelled.

"NO! Leave her alone!"

Megatron turned his attention back to Optimus, who was coming at him again. He evaded the attack and pushed Optimus out of the way.

"What's the matter, Prime? I thought you liked sending your women into battle?"

Optimus grabbed onto Megatron's cannon and swung him into a wall.

"She's just a child!"

Megatron studied the autobot leader for a moment. And then he laughed. Starscream called over the radio.

"She's too fast! I can't keep up! Requesting backup!"

Megatron smiled as he radioed back.

"Permission granted... And don't hold back!"

Optimus watched in horror as Maria was attacked by the seekers. Starscream fired a shot directly into her back, causing her to transform just as Skywarp teleported in front of her and grabbed the power converter.

Optimus roared, moving to intervene, but Megatron grabbed onto him, locking his head and arms in a vice grip.

"No, Optimus. I want you to watch this."

Optimus tried blocking out the next part. Tried desperately to free himself from the iron grip Megatron had on him.

The seekers were ruthless. Tossing the femme around in the air, pushing her higher and higher with each collission. Finally, when she stopped trying to evade the attacks did Megatron order them to stop. The seekers stopped catching her, and for a moment, she floated in the air before gravity pulled her back to earth. She spiraled downwards, the seekers following her all the way to the ground.

Only then did Megatron release Optimus, who dropped to his knees, his eyes fixed at the crash site.

"Megatron, We have the power converter!" Starscream called back.

"Excellent, Starscream." Megatron took two steps away from Optimus.

"The femme is still alive..."

Optimus snapped his head in the direction of Megatron's radio.

"Fine, I'll be there to finish it myself."

The Decepticons retreated, their mission complete. Only Megatron and Soundwave flew in the direction of the crash site, with Optimus and the autobots following them on the ground as fast as they could.

Megatron landed next to Starscream and ordered Skywarp to take the power-convertor back to HQ. He then looked at the femme, who was sprawled out on the ground with energon leaking from every crack and leak it could find.

Megatron aimed his cannon at her, but stopped when he realized that the femme wasn't looking at his cannon. She was looking directly into his optics.

Maria couldn't see anything but his silhouette and his optics. And she knew she had seen it before in one of her visions. She opened her mouth and tried to talk.

"He*zxxT*et!" She wheezed, her vocal component scrambled too badly to make any sense.

Megatron lowered his cannon, still staring into the femme's optics.

"What?"

"H*xxt*met!" *zxxt*elm*xt*" She sounded almost desperate.

"She is merely begging for her life, Lord Megatron." Starscream suggested.

"Lord Megatron, the Autobots are approaching. Retreat is the best course of action."

Megatron looked at Soundwave for a moment, then nodded.

"Decepticons, fall back!"

Starscream moved toward the femme on the ground.

"Shall I finish her off?"

"No. Leave her." Megatron ordered. Soundwave cast a glimpse at the femme before he and the rest of the seekers followed Megatron into the air.

Jazz was the first on the scene, as he had been closer than the others to where the femme crashed. Behind him, Ratchet and Hoist transformed and went to work on stopping the internal damage the many impacts had caused.

Jazz surveyed the scene and hurried down the slope where Optimus was arriving.

"Prime, stop. You really don't need to see this." He tried, but was pushed out of the way.

"Don't try to stop me, Jazz!" He ordered while stalking up the small hill.

He stopped when he saw her.

Almost every single piece of glass on the femme was broken, dents and cracks everywhere and a puddle of energon that seemed to keep growing under her.

Ratchet looked up at the Commander and growled.

"Get Ironhide! We need her back at medbay immediately!"

Maria's systems finally gave up and shut down, allowing the emergency system to use all resources to rebuild the internal damage.


	17. Her own little prison

When her systems finally came back online, the first voice she heard was that of the chief medic.

"...Massive internal damage. It's a good thing this didn't happen on Cybertron. We had to supply energon enough for three recharges while we patched up all the leaks and damages."

"Is she going to live?"

"Yes, Optimus. She pulled through. It was a bit of touch and go for a while, but she's going to be all right. She should wake up soon."

"Thank you, both of you..."

It was silent for a few seconds as the medics left. Optimus suddenly spoke to someone.

"I don't want her to leave the base anymore. She is not to be allowed near a battle. If the Decepticons come here, she is to be escorted out of here immediately."

"Isn't that a bit rash, Prime?" Jazz intoned.

"She nearly died today. I told her to leave right away, and she didn't. I'm not giving the Decepticons another chance to finish the job."

"As you will, Prime."

Maria sat up as fast as she could, but immediately regretted it. Her entire body was still aching from the strain, and her equilibrium sensor didn't get a chance to sync with the movement yet. The whole room was spinning.

Optimus grabbed her before she tumbled off the table.

"Take it easy, Maria. You're not exactly in tip top shape right now."

She looked up, finally able to focus.

"You're restricting my movement?"

He nodded.

"Why?"

"You could have gotten killed today!"

"I thought we were at war? Casualties are a by-product of such, is it not?"

Optimus shook his head.

"You're not a warrior, Maria. You really had no place there today. Know your limits."

Maria waved his hands off her shoulders.

"I know my limitations. I've spent millions of years in outer space finding out what my limits were, all the while you and the others had your little 'nap' here on this ball of mud!"

Optimus showed his disapproval by staying silent for a few moments, carefully choosing his words.

"I know we disappeared for a long time, but I'm still your father and your commander. I know you don't like this, but this is not a request. It's an order."

Everyone on the base made sure Optimus' order was adhered to. She could barely glance at the exit before someone asked her what she thought she was doing.

Eventually, Maria gave up and stayed most of the time in her quarters, either reading history logs or manuals.

Most of the time she failed at concentrating. She couldn't get the image of the Decepticon leader out of her head. She had to know. There could have been thousands of miners wearing that exact helmet, yet this was the first time she had ever seen it still worn by someone.

She decided to take action. Damned be the rules hat everyone had set up for her. She was going to find out the truth.

She started by researching everything on the Decepticon Leader. There was no information on what he had been doing before the war started. It was like he'd been born from the war.

By checking a range of files, she found that a miner, matching Megatron's description, had led an attack on a mining colony and killed a guard.

He and a group of miners had been arrested and were en route to prison when they managed to overtake the ship and disappear.

After than, she found mentions of gladiatorial battles with a ruthless brute. The few images she could find were low quality and grainy, but they seemed to match Megatron's appearance.

Even if Megatron was not the one she was looking for, at least she had tried. Of course it was a long shot. Her creator was probably dead eons ago.

*****************

A few weeks later, Maria stole a communicator from the equipment depot.

She waited a few days to see if anyone would notice that it was missing. When nobody mentioned it, she took the radio out from the hiding place in her quarters and opened the small radio. She hailed the frequenzy she had gotten from Teletraan-1 and waited a few moments before the video feed opened, revealing the leader of the Decepticons.

"I see you survived." She wasn't sure if he was mocking her, as his tone sounded sincere. Strangely enough, it didn't even seem like he was surprised by her call.

"I want to meet you..." Was all she could push out through her vocal component. "...Alone!"

He was silent for a moment. Then he laughed, getting ready to cut the feed.

"You must think me a fool. It takes more than a pretty face to fool me. You Autobots must be running out of ideas."

"No, It's not a trap! I have questions and I fear you may be the only one who can answer them!"

He humored her, his mouth twisted into a cruel smile. For a moment she had doubts about her plan.

"I see... and how many autobots do you plan on bringing with you to this meeting?"

"None! I'm not even allowed outside since your seekers nearly killed me."

"A little rebel in her own right." He mused. She wished she had the strength to strangle him through the video feed.

"Alright... I'll meet you. But you're going on my terms. I'll let you know where to go. and I'll make sure you're not trying to trick me."

She glanced over her shoulder, looking down the hill toward the base. Suddenly paranoid that they all could hear her from miles away.

"I'll keep in touch." He said, cutting the feed.

"Wait! How will I know... where..." She stared at the blank screen.

A few weeks passed. Maria was inclined to hail the Decepticon leader again. She had kept the comm on her at all times, but no message had come through.

Maria had sat through another frustrating command meeting. She was still not allowed outside. She had requested permission to leave the base with a few of the other Autobots, to go on a reconnaissance mission. Her request had been denied again.

She was mad when she left the meeting. She brushed past Optimus, ignoring his attempt to strike up a conversation. He followed her down the hallway, still trying to make her see it his way.

"It's not because I want to restrict you, I just feel it's too dangerous for you to go out. Given what happened to you last time, I think you would understand how I feel."

She turned and looked at her father.

"Dad. Nothing is going to happen! Nothing rarely happens! I'm far stronger than those fleshling creatures you are so endeared to. Yet they are allowed to follow the other Autobots into battle!"

Optimus sighed, and she could tell he made that overbearing face he'd used since she was a child. Of course he wasn't taking her seriously.

"Maria. You're not a fighter..."

"No, I am not a fighter, but I have other skills!"

"I know." Optimus replied.

Maria waited for him to continue, but realized he wasn't going to.

"So? That's all you have to say?"

"Maria, I don't know what you expect me to do?"

"If I can't have my freedom here, then send me back to Cybertron!"

"And into the arms of Shockwave and his men?"

"You see danger everywhere. I've been on earth for years, you must have expected me to get hurt at some point."

"Not this severe. Do you realize how close you came to dying?"

"Death is just another form of knowledge."

"Maria, this conversation is over."

He walked away, not wanting to continue the conversation.

Maria turned and walked into her private room, for a moment wishing the doors didn't slide into place by themselves. Slamming the door would have done her a world of good.


	18. Who is Lumen?

It had been dark for a few hours when the small radio came to life. Maria grabbed it and allowed the transmission to go through.

"Yes?"

"Outside."

Then the connection was cut. Maria tugged the radio into a compartment and left the room.

She managed to make it outside the ark without anyone seeing her.

A red flash caught her attention. Laserbeak.

The dark bird motioned for her to come closer, and when she did, it turned its head and shone a light on one of the rocks, revealing a map.

"Falkland islands?" She looked at Laserbeak.

The bird shut off the projector, turned and flew away.

When she had arrived at the Falkland islands, she was given a new message by a waiting cassette she only knew as Frenzy. She could tell he was under strict orders, because he only gave her coordinates to the south of France.

When she crossed the southern border of France, she was hailed on the comm and told to land. She landed near Toulouse and was given a note by a black feline.

Greenland.

When she came to Greenland, Rumble made sure she was stripped of all communication devices and sent to northern Finland. She landed on the island Mahlatti and cursed herself. She was nearly out of energon. She wasn't sure how much she had left, but she knew it wouldn't last all the way back to the Ark.

"Did you have a nice trip?" She shot up at the sound of his voice.

The Decepticon leader had managed to sneak up behind her. He was aiming his cannon at her.

"Weapons?"

She removed her sword and dagger from her subspace pocket and threw them at his feet.

"Blasters?"

She held up her hands.

"I can't use firearms. Not strong enough."

"Good." He lowered his cannon.

"So, what exactly is it you want to know?"

She was silent for a few moments. This was it. She suddenly felt unsure if she had made the right choice. If it was true, she wouldn't know what to do. She had to word it carefully.

"I... I would like to see you without the helmet."

Megatron started circling her like a predator would.

"Why?" He asked, grabbing her wrist. He pushed her backwards. She could tell he was testing her strength.

"I just have to know if you're the one I'm looking for."

He released her and took three steps back.

"All right." He raised his arms and pulled off the mining helmet, letting his antennae rise. He kept his eyes on every move she made.

Maria recognized him right away. Of course, she couldn't be sure if he really was her other parent.

Megatron watched the femme and for a moment she reminded him of something he had hidden away in his processors. The thing that drove him forward. The thing he had lost.

"You are Prime's daughter." He stated.

Maria looked up at him.

"Yes."

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to know something."

"What?" For a moment the Decepticon leader seemed almost fatherly.

"Lumen?"

She wasn't exactly sure what sort of reaction, if any, she had expected. But the rage the Decepticon leader suddenly showed hadn't been one she expected.

His hands were around her neck, and she was on the ground. His eyes were like red hot lightningbolts. At first she thought it was just rage, but when she saw his eyes, it wasn't just anger. It was like she had tore up an old wound that had never healed. A desperate sorrow mixed with his animosity.

"How dare you! How dare you mention that name!" He pressed her so hard into the rocky ground that her wings were bending under the pressure.

"I'll tear you limb from limb you little Autobot scrap! Optimus will rue the day he sent you here! I'll send you back to him one tiny piece at a time!"

Maria grabbed his hands. Her systems were overheating from the pressure on her throat. She couldn't breathe. She gagged, her optics flickering from the strain.

Megatron released her throat, throwing her easily out of his way. He turned away from her and Maria saw the communications officer behind him.

"Scan her! See if you can find anything useful."

Soundwave moved in on her, getting ready to grab her.

"Wait!" She cried, stumbling to her feet.

Soundwave grabbed her head, locking it tight between his hands.

"Commencing scan." He informed.

Megatron turned to look at them. Soundwave's visor lit up.

"She has locked memory caches. Shall I unpack them?"

Megatron nodded.

Soundwave looked at the femme as he forced open the locked memory. She released his arms. Her knees collapsed under her. Soundwave followed her movement, still holding onto her head.

Megatron moved closer.

"What do you see?"

Soundwave scanned the data as quickly as possible.

"I see you... Lord Megatron."

"What? Let me see!"

Soundwave broadcast the data onto his chest-screen.

Megatron did indeed see himself. He saw Resonance, Tarn, the playground... And finally, he saw the bombs.

"Boogeymen! The boogeymen are coming!" A small voice screamed.

"Papa, I want Papa!"

Running, screaming. Bombs falling... and then nothing. A black void.

Megatron looked up at Soundwave.

"Stop! Release her..."

Soundwave released the femme and she fell onto her back.

"Her systems are rebooting. She should be back online in a moment."

"And she remembers all this?"

"Affirmative."

Megatron looked at Maria as her optics lit up with the blue color he had picked for her.

"Lumen?"

"They named me Maria."

Megatron stood still. Staring at her like he was afraid that she would vanish into the air if he touched her.

"You had a name!"

Maria stood up, a little unsure on her feet from the reboot.

"The photon blasts scrambled my databanks... I had no memory."

Megatron kept his distance. Maria could tell he still didn't fully believe it.

"Optimus adopted you?"

Maria nodded. Knowing that adoption with spark completion was serious. A half-spark parent would always be very picky with their choice of other parent. And as things have turned out, she had been adopted by his highest ranking enemy. Megatron stepped forward.

"How?" he demanded.

"Spark completion."

He turned away from her and paced a little back and forth.

He moved over to her and took her hand. He turned it around, studying it against his own. She took her time to study his face. It wasn't exactly the same, the war had indeed taken its toll on the face she remembered.

"You've grown up." He said.

"A war is a lifetime."

He stepped back from her.

"You are going to have to make a choice."

"You want me to choose between you or Optimus..."

"You can't have it both ways."

She looked into his optics.

"What awaits me with you?"

He was silent for a long time.

"Pain and hatred. Your Autobot comrades will not honor you if you choose me."

He leaned closer to her.

"If you decide to choose me, my soldiers will not let you in unless you have proven yourself to be of worth."

"Betrayal."

"It is the Decepticon way. You will find that things are very different from what you are accustomed to."

He took her hands again.

"However... If you follow me, I'll make sure you have everything you've ever wanted!"

"I need time to think."

He nodded and handed her a small vial of energon.

"This should be enough for the trip back to Oregon."

She took it and thanked him. He walked away. Soundwave following after him. The communications-officer turned his head and glanced at her before they both took flight and vanished.

* * *

The welcome committee was expected.

Optimus, Ironhide, Prowl and Jazz were waiting for her at the Ark's entrance.

The Arialbots had escorted her since they picked up her signal over Canada. Optimus had most likely sent out a large search team, so she knew she was in for at least 4 hours of reprimands.

She landed in front of the Ark. The waiting Autobots casting long shadows in the bright light from the Ark. Maria stood still, watching the whole charade. She could suddenly see that the Ark would be her prison as long as she allowed it to be.

She raised her head and walked inside, brushing past the waiting Autobots.

"You're back." Optimus turned, looking after her. She turned around and smiled.

"Yes... And in one piece as well."

He turned and followed her, obviously angered by her carelessness.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You've been gone for over a day! We've searched everywhere for you."

Maria crossed her arms.

"Dad... Nothing happened! I was safe the entire time. Why are you making it such a big deal? I need my freedom."

"You need protection!"

"I've spent millions of years in outer space without you or anyone else!"

Optimus shook his head.

"Maria... I was going to ease up on the restrictions, but what you did is inexcusable. I'm going to have to make sure you don't leave the Ark."

Maria turned and walked away.


	19. Sugarcoated, it isn't

A few days passed. Maria found Ironhide and Optimus debating about an incoming load of Energon. Ironhide was suggesting the use of smaller roads to avoid too much attention.

Optimus was more inclined to using the highway to get there faster.

"Why not have them send out small, unmarked cars to blend in on the freeway?" Maria asked.

Ironhide looked at the femme.

"Now, who asked your advice?"

Maria could tell he was still feeling mad about her little escape.

"No one asked my advice. I gave it freely. If you use the freeway, the Decepticons won't know..."

"Listen, I've been organizing these picnics since the beginning..."

"Yes, and statistically, your plans are failures. Nine out of ten times, the Decepticons attack and you have to waste precious ressources on defense when you could..."

"Why, I oughta... Listen here Princess, I don't need some little doll telling me my plans are failures! You've never been in combat, and you don't know squat about the Decepticreeps!"

Maria looked at Optimus, who was still staring at the plans. She had hoped for a little back-up, but he stood up and put his hand on Ironhide's shoulder.

"Hey, take it easy, soldier..."

Optimus looked at Maria.

"I know I've been spending a lot of time working on plans lately. But how about Ironhide and I wrap this up, and I'll take you out for a walk? You don't need to worry about this. We've got it covered."

Maria shook her head, exasperated. She turned on her heel and left.

Maria was sitting on a rock just outside the Ark. A couple of Autobots were shooting her sideways glances. Almost as if they expected her to disappear in a puff of smoke. She held the data-pad in her hand as if she wanted to read, but her mind was circling her predicament.

Of course she wished to remain loyal to the Autobots. They were honorable and hard working. But Megatron's words hung in her audio receptors... everything she wanted.

If he would listen to her, maybe Cybertron was really within reach...

"Hey... Mind if I sit down?"

Maria looked up at the femme who had snuck up on her.

"Sure, Sprocket. You're always welcome."

The blue femme sat down next to her and smiled. She offered an energon goodie, which Maria accepted.

Both femmes ate their goodies in silence. Watching the other Autobots walking to and fro.

Maria snuck a glance at the femme. If she could only call one Autobot her friend, Sprocket would get the title.

"Thank you." Maria said, smiling to Sprocket who had turned to offer her another goodie.

"Oh, you're welcome, I've got plenty. Axle has been hoarding them for a while."

"No, I mean... Thank you for being my friend."

Sprocket laughed.

"Oh, it's really no trouble. You're good company when you finally decide to open up."

Maria shrugged.

"I know I'm overly analytical, and I'm not exactly a social butterfly. But you seem to not judge me when I rant. And you actually listen to my ideas."

"You have great ideas!" Sprocket said, leaning forward to glare at a few bots who were loitering about, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. The bots quickly composed themselves and went on with their business.

"It's just too bad nobody seems to listen..." Sprocket continued.

"it's okay... They'll have to listen at some point." Maria said, putting the latest energon goodie in her mouth.

"Yeah. Everybody gets their chance to shine."

Maria puffed up her chest and raised a hand into the air in a determined motion.

"I'll grab the buffer immediately! Then they shall listen to her royal shinyness! The princess of Sparkles!"

Sprocket laughed out loud.

"Maria." Optimus said, breaking into the femmes' conversation. Maria looked up at her father.

"Yes?"

"I thought we agreed that you should stay inside unless supervised."

Maria was about to reproach, but Sprocket beat her to it.

"Sir, I've been keeping an eye on her. We stayed close to the entrance just in case anything happened."

Optimus eyed Sprocket. For a moment it looked as if he was going to correct Sprocket, but his eyes finally changed into a more approving countenance.

"Good. Thank you for taking care of her."

Sprocket wanted to remark that Maria hardly needed a babysitter, but knew better than to start that discussion, since it would more than likely just end up with Maria being completely banned from getting any fresh air.

"You're welcome."

Sprocket stood up and brushed a little dust off her backside before she turned to Maria and offered a sympathetic smile and a tiny wink.

"I'll talk to you later, Maria."

Maria nodded and watched Sprocket walk inside the Ark.

Optimus extended his hand, which Maria took, allowing her father to help her up. He started walking. Maria gladly followed when she realized he was walking further away from the exit.

"Ironhide wasn't pleased with your little charade today."

Maria shrugged.

"Ironhide isn't pleased with a lot of things. He barely tolerates the fact that grass is green."

Optimus chuckled.

"I know you have a lot of ideas, but I think it would be best to leave the planning to the professionals."

"A professional isn't necessarily someone with the most experience."

"Experience is a good thing."

"As is a fresh perspective..."

"Maybe. But I think Ironhide knows what he is doing."

"I'm not saying he's inept. Ironhide is intelligent, but old fashioned. You should at least have Prowl look at more alternatives. He's brilliant with this sort of thing."

Optimus laughed.

"You lecture me like I'm a rookie!"

Maria looked up at him.

"I fear you don't take me seriously."

"Of course I take you seriously. But this isn't within your area of expertise. If I need a Cybertronian history lesson, you're the first one I'll seek out."

"I can help you, dad! Why can't you just give me a chance?"

Optimus put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

"Maybe I will some day..."

********

"I can't believe it!" Ironhide yelled, looking at the troops that had returned after a highly unsuccessful energon run.

"What happened,o exactly?" Optimus asked, ignoring Ironhide's outburst. Skids took a step forward.

"We were overrun by the Decepticons." He said.

"It was like they just appeared out of nowhere!" Swerve added.

"And the energon?" Ironhide asked, running very low on patience.

"Whatever the Decepticons didn't get a hold of was destroyed."

Maria, who had been listening to the debriefing, crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Ironhide.

"I tried to tell you."

Ironhide turned to her, his face turning almost as red as the rest of him.

"Why you... Nobody asked your opinion you lil' runt!"

"If you had followed my advice, your troops could have gotten away with at least a fraction of the energon. They can't chase after 10 cars at once without divid..."

Ironhide yelled.

"I don't care! Nobody cares what you think!"

Optimus looked at Ironhide.

"Ironhide, calm down! That's an order!"

Optimus turned his optics on his daughter.

"And Maria, apologize to Ironhide..." Optimus turned back to the troops,

Maria eyed Ironhide's smug expression.

"No..."

Optimus turned back to look at Maria. A murmur shooting through the little group of Autobots around them.

"Maria... Just do it."

"No. I will not. I will not apologize for stating the obvious I said he would fail and he failed."

Optimus crossed his arms across his chest, putting on his commander attitude.

"Maria..."

"Don't bother ordering me. I won't do it."

Optimus nodded.

"Fine... If you don't do it, consider your walk today revoked..."

Maria lost a bit of her casual attitude. Obviously frustrated with his threat. She shot Ironhide a glance. His entire attitude was meant to let her know that he won this round. Maria straightened up and threw her head back.

"Fine by me!" She said as she turned on her heel and made herself scarce.


	20. Let's end it with a bang

After three months, Optimus was ready to tear out his antennae. Maria had decided to follow her own set of rules. She denied following orders. She snuck out whenever she saw an opportunity, she ignored her superior officers and was found wandering all over the base at odd hours.

Even her friendship with Sprocket seemed to be on ice.

He'd even tried confining her to her quarters. She'd served her time, and snuck out right after her confinement ended.

She spent hours by herself. She'd been spotted in the oddest places of the Ark. She was carrying around schematics she had drawn. When asked about it, she merely said she was trying to recreated the blueprints to the Ark. Optimus had found her recharging over new blueprints of the Ark. But even with her newest hobby, she was still fighting every order he gave her.

"Maria! This is not up for discussion. It's an order!"

"You can tell me it's an order. That still doesn't mean i'm going to follow it."

It was always the same discussion.

Maria found Optimus slaving over one of the reports he had been given after the latest Decepticon activity.

"You seem tired."

He looked up and saw Maria standing in the door. He put the holopad down and turned to her.

"War is 80% reports. 15% waiting and 5% fighting."

She smiled.

"Why don't you get out of here then? Drive around a little."

He looked at the holopad.

"The reports aren't going to read themselves."

"I can look them over and give you a quick recap."

Optimus was tempted.

"I wish I could, but it's still my responsibility."

Maria looked like she was going to say something, but she just walked away.

Optimus wondered what was wrong. She'd always been one to carry the world on her shoulders, but now it seemed like she was weighed down by more than just her usual wondering. Even on cybertron she had gone her own ways. Always reading. She hadn't ever seemed interested in socializing with other bots her age.

He put the holopad down and got up from his chair. Maybe a walk would do him good.

Maria watched from the shadows as Optimus left his office. When he turned down the corridor, she walked back into his office. She opened a wall panel and left a small box in the indentation before she put the panel back in its place. She crossed off the location on her blueprints and left the office again.

She sent a message to the Decepticon leader with instructions on what he should do.

In the early morning, Teletraan-1 set off an alarm.

"Optimus! We have a heavy mobilization of Decepticons 182 miles south!" Bumblebee shouted.

Optimus hurried over to Teletraan-1.

"That's the Institute of Molecular Biology... I wonder what Megatron is up to now."

Bumblebee chirped in.

"It looks like the whole army is there."

Optimus shouted.

"Mobilize eveyone!"

He turned to Sprocket, who had just arrived with Axle.

"I need you to stay back and guard my daughter. She is not to leave the premises."

"Of course, sir!" Sprocket said.

Axle gave Sprocket a tight hug before he joined the others.

"Autobots, Transform and Roll out!"

Maria quietly followed Sprocket outside, watching the others disappear into the desert landscape.

Sprocket watched Maria as she stood there, watching the horizon where the Autobots had disappeared.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He smiled.

She looked at the femme.

"I was just thinking of how beautiful the Ark really is from the outside."

Sprocket smiled.

"I'm sure Optimus will ease up soon. At least you're outside right now. And Megatron and his troops are down south, so you're not in any danger."

Maria looked up, adjusting her optics against the sunlight.

"No... Megatron is not far south."

Sprocket looked up. The blue sky was marred by the sight of the Decepticon leader, followed closely by the communications officer.

"Maria, hurry! Inside!"

Sprocket turned to run, but felt a sharp sting in her back before everything became dark.

Megatron and Soundwave landed in front of the femme, who was looking at Sprocket.

Maria was standing over Sprocket, holding the small device she had just used to knock out Sprocket.

Maria turned and looked at the Decepticons with a sweet smile.

"I'm glad you decided to join me."

"You said you needed me to be here. The Autobots are far south like you planned. My troops will make sure they stay there for a while."

Maria handed him a small device with just one button.

"Consider this my initiation."

Megatron took it and smiled.

"I suppose something happens when you press the button."

"There's only one way to find out."

Optimus had been 50 miles south when he saw Megatron and Soundwave flying over them toward the ark. He and Ironhide both transformed.

"He's heading toward the Ark. It's a trap! Ironhide, take charge, I have to go back!"

Optimus couldn't remember ever driving at such a reckless speed. When he arrived in the Ark's proximity, he found Megatron and Soundwave standing near Maria, with Sprocket knocked out on the ground. He screamed at Megatron.

The earth trembled with the hellish explosion. For a second, Optimus thought the volcano had erupted, but then he realised that it was the Ark exploding. He couldn't count how many bombs exploded. The only thing he could see were his daughter's optics as the fire rose at least three miles high behind them. he was knocked back by the blow.

Megatron grabbed onto the femme and pulled her against him. Optimus struggled to get back up, but the blast had caught him off guard. He couldn't tell what was up or down.

Optimus was on his knees when the rumble faded, and only the sound of falling rocks and shrapnel disturbed the silence. He looked up to see Megatron holding Maria in his arms. A vicious smile signalling his victory over the Autobots.

"You have lost, Prime."

Optimus tried to stand.

"Let her go, Megatron. Nothing is to be gained by taking her!"

Megatron laughed.

"You are wrong, Optimus. Everything is to be gained."

Maria looked at Optimus, obviously sad by the look on his face. She was sad that it had to come to this, but this was her only way. Optimus mistook the looks on her face as fear. He didn't understand that she was the one who had planted the bombs.

"Goodbye, Prime!" Megatron laughed as he took off with Maria in his arms, closley followed by Soundwave.


	21. Making plans

Megatron sat on a throne with Maria, who had reclaimed the name Lumen, on his left side. The Decepticons were celebrating their victory. The Autobots were in disarray, their Headquarters had been destroyed and they had no way to contact Cybertron for months.

She hadn't liked it, but Megatron had made a spectacle of giving her the Decepticon's insignia.

After the small ceremony, the Decepticons started to play music. She recognized it as native Cybertronian music. Suddenly, someone handed her a vial with a golden liquid. Isotopic energon. She'd heard Ironhide talking about it, but hadn't had the chance to try it. She took the vial and looked up at Megatron. He only smiled and motioned for her to drink.

It was like drinking energon, but the effect it had on the system was startling. Almost like everything was fuzzy, but loud. Like the world itself had been enhanced.

Someone pulled her down to the others to join in the celebration.

Megatron watched the femme dancing with the warriors. He knew she wouldn't have an easy time when the rush from the newest victory died down. That was how it was. They lived in the moment. An old victory would soon be forgotten, and if she didn't prove herself again and again, they would turn on her.

Of course he could order all soldiers to leave her alone, but soon they would ask questions. Some already speculated why she had joined them.

That she was his sparkling was not information he wished to indulge to his minions.

It was hours later before she had finally overnergized herself and shut down. Megatron carried her out of the hall and down to his quarters. He rarely shut down. He preferred recharging in the chambers to shutting down, so his recharge bed was rarely, if ever, used.

When Megatron exited, he found Soundwave waiting for him outside the chamber.

"You may speak, if you wish." He said as they started walking down the hall.

"She is no ordinary femme." Soundwave said, waiting for Megatron to elaborate.

"No, you are right. She is not."

Soundwave looked at his leader.

"The others are speculating if you have taken her as a consort."

Megatron stopped and laughed out loud.

"Let the fools think what they will, but imagine the pleasure I got from having Prime's own daughter destroy their headquarters. The Autobots have suffered a blow they won't recover from for months."

Megatron started walking again.

" She has given us a major victory. That is why she is here."

Soundwave nodded.

"And the other issue? I understand that is to be kept under wraps."

Megatron nodded.

"Of course. Any would-be usurpers would jump at the opportunity to use her against me if they learned of our connection."

Megatron, Soundwave and the seekers were in the tactical command room when Lumen entered. Megatron nodded to her and she moved over to the projector.

"Welcome Lumen. How do you feel?"

"Like i've done nothing but transforming all night."

Starscream failed to retain a laugh, but Megatron merely ignored him.

"You will have to excuse Starscream. he has forgotten what it is like to be young. Unfortunately, he also does not get any wiser with age."

The other seekers laughed, but quickly stopped when the aerial commander shot them a dirty look.

"I suggest we move in from the north and drain the plant dry of all the energy. As soon as we're done, we will retreat to base."

Lumen watched the scenario play out on the screen.

"What if the Autobots arrive while you're still draining energy?"

Starscream leaned over the projector.

"Then we will blast them out of the area!"

Lumen looked up at him.

"That is a highly illogical tactic."

Starscream shot up and sneered at her.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Lumen leaned over the projector and moved a large chunk of the Decepticon icons away from the plant, leaving only 4 left.

"I suggest you send 4 soldiers in, start draining until you can see the Autobots closing in. Then you abandon the plant with as much energon as you can carry without losing speed."

Megatron watched as she moved several more pieces over to the plant.

"The Autobots will most likely pursue you, so while the 4 of you draw the autobots away, the rest can move in and drain more energon from the plant. The Autobots will find out soon, but you will be able to divide and rendezvous with the others. If my calculations based on previous raids are correct, you may get up to 36.2487% more energon with you."

Megatron moved around the table and joined Lumen on the other side.

"What if the Autobots stay back to guard the plant?"

Lumen looked at him.

"I am confident that your seekers will be able to get away with a sizeable amount of energon. Even if the Autobots split up, you will still have a great amount of energon to use for another raid."

"Another raid?" Starscream asked. "Why don't we just utilize one massive strike and empty an entire powerplant so we have enough energy to build the ultimate weapon and wipe out the Autobots once and for all?"

Megatron stepped back. He was interested in watching his daughter handle the situation.

"Because that is not what I want."

Megatron looked at Starscream, who was staring at the femme with equal amounts of contempt and fascination.

"What... You... want?"

She nodded.

"Yes. What I want. I didn't join you to help you wipe out the Autobots. I joined you because I don't think the Autobots have the neccessary desire to do what needs to be done. They want to go back to the way things were. They want to restore Cybertron to The Golden Age..."

She looked at the map in front of her, clutching the edges of the table. A gesture that went unnoticed by the seekers.

"...But they fail to realize that the supposed glory days of our home were nothing but a corrupt system. A system where the rich got the good end of the bargain and everyone else had to resort to crime or hard labor in order to get by. A system that birthed a civil war. And the senate did nothing!"

She looked up at the Air commander.

"I want to empower Cybertron! I want my home to be a place of peace. I want those who calls themselves rulers of Cybertron brought to their knees! No more senates, no more bureaucracy!"

She looked at Megatron.

"I want a new world order."

"A new world order will come at a heavy cost." Starscream said. He wasn't entirely unimpressed, but he figured the femme would run away at the very first sign of hardship.

"I'm ready to pay the price." Lumen said without looking at the aerial commander.

"Even if it means killing your Autobot friends?"

She looked at him.

"My loyalty does not lie with their faction, nor is it yours. My alliance is with Cybertron. The defenseless, the hungry, the damned. Everyone who unjustly has to fight for survival. Anyone who opposes this goal, be they Decepticon or Autobot, will not be considered a friend of mine."

"So you would turn on us if we don't agree?" Starscream asked, trying to put her in a bad position with the Decepticon leader.

"Is that not the Decepticon way?" She smiled.


	22. Flying high

Spike was helping the Autobots clear the debris of the Ark. The Autobots had decided to utilize plans to build a bigger home. Of course it meant tons of work, but in the end, it would be the most profitable solution for everyone. Safety was the top priority.

And since they no longer had access to Teletraan, they would have to rely on humans calling for their aid in case of any Decepticon attacks. The whole process was tedious.

Three Decepticon attacks on energy plants had occurred, but the Autobots had been too late each time. It had simply taken too long to call them.

"Optimus, are you all right?" Spike asked, watching the Autobot commander.

Optimus had been quiet, only given out one or two orders in the few hours Spike and Carly had been helping.

"I'm… afraid for her safety."

"Oh… I understand. Megatron didn't make any demands?"

"No, there has been no communication at all. I tried to contact him, but there's no answer."

"You would at least think he would take any kind of action. Why did he take her?"

"I don't know. She can't be useful to him. Of course he could use her as leverage… Maybe he's torturing her for information. Who knows what unspeakable things he's putting her through."

"Stop, for the love of Primus! Stop, I can't take anymore." Lumen begged.

"Oh no, we're not done yet. So Skywarp decides to teleport to get away from the sharkticon. But he ends up teleporting directly into a sharkticon lair!" Thundercracker laughed.

"How was I supposed to know that's where they came from?" Skywarp said, with a mock pout.

"How did you get out of that one?" Lumen asked, finally having composed herself enough to sit up straight.

"Diplomacy!" Skywarp grinned.

"Really?"

"Yeah! They had a great meeting with the end of my pulse rifle!"

Lumen shook her head and got up from her chair.

"I should go, your unit commander and I have a recon mission we must get over with."

Skywarp and Thundercracker both got up from their chairs and they parted ways.

"Finally, I've been waiting!" The aerial commander said. He was nonchalantly leaning against the doorway to the exit.

"Considering that we agreed to meet in exactly 3.6 earth minutes, I can't be held responsible for your wait." Lumen said.

Starscream turned toward the exit.

"Try to keep up at least."

With that, he transformed and jetted out of the exit. Lumen transformed and followed his lead.

Starscream boosted his speed, expecting the femme to fall behind. He was surprised when he realized she was keeping up with him without using any extra resources. He growled and did a barrelroll, trying to shake her. He was pleased to see that she was unable to copy his maneuver. He continued to do a snaproll, a lomcovak and a pugachev's cobra to watch her fall behind. When he landed he was sure she would be angry with him for trying to ditch her. He put his arms across his chest and waited as she transformed and landed. She didn't seem angry, almost on the contrary, she smiled.

"That was amazing! You must teach me how to do that!"

Starscream faltered a bit, not used to receiving praise for his aerial acrobatics.

"What?"

"Your aerial acrobatics are superb. I've seen some of it before, but your skill is unprecedented."

Starscream, realizing he had impressed the femme, rather than angered her, puffed up his chest and smirked.

"Of course. I'm the best there is. Nobody can outmaneuver me."

"Would you be willing to teach me?" Lumen asked.

Starscream was silent for a few moments, contemplating if he really could be bothered with playing a teacher for an obvious rookie. Of course, if he was nice to her, he could probably sway her to help him in taking over Megatron's position as leader of the Decepticons.

The fool, Megatron, seemed to trust the femme, so she could be a valuable ally.

"Okay, I'll teach you."

He was rewarded with a smile, which he savored for a moment before turning around to inspect the perimeter.

"Let's get this ridiculous mission over with."

They walked through the perimeter for a while, and Starscream turned his head to look over his shoulder.

"I feel this mission is beneath my abilities. Why should I, the aerial commander, walk around on foot to scout an obviously empty area, when Megatron could have sent Soundwave to do so?"

Lumen contemplated his words, her thoughts suddenly stuck on the blue communications officer.

"You mean he's better at scouting?"

"Yeah, he's built for this type of stuff. Although, I could probably do better than him if I had all his fancy equipment."

"What's he like anyway? He never really says much."

"Nah, Soundwave is creepy. He mostly just listens to what everyone else says. Some say he can hear your thoughts. His loyalty to Megatron is nauseating as well. You'd think they were bondmates or something!"

"Oh…" Lumen considered asking if Soundwave had a bondmate, but suddenly realized it wasn't exactly a relevant query.

Starscream transformed and revved up his engine.

"Nothing here. Let's get back in the air. Maybe I'll show you a trick or two!"

"I'd love to try out the lomcovak!" She said, excited of the prospect of learning something new.

Megatron was looking at the reports on the latest raids when Lumen joined him by the monitors.

"How does it look?" She asked.

"Excellent. Our new ship is nearing completion. We only need the final components. One more raid, and we will be ready to phase two of your plan."

Megatron looked at his sparkling, realizing she was positively beaming.

"You look… Exhilarated."

Lumen tilted her head from side to side.

"I guess I'm just happy you let me partake in all this."

"Why? You have a brilliant mind, I would be a fool to not utilize your skills."

That caused her to smile even wider.

"I'm not used to being treated as such. Most of the Autobots just saw me as a child with thoughts of grandeur."

Megatron started walking.

"Now that we have some time, I would like you to tell me more about yourself."

"I highly doubt there is much to tell, papa…" she stopped and looked at him in shock.

"I apologize. It just slipped out."

Megatron did not seem angry with her. She sometimes forgot herself in excitement of finally having found her creator.

"It does not matter, Lumen. I do not wish to keep our connection a secret because I am ashamed of you. It is merely for your own protection."

She gave him an odd look and started walking again.

"Yes, I realize you hate being protected, but there is no need to complicate matters more. They will know soon enough who you are. When they realize your value, they will be told."

Lumen nodded.

"Well, to answer your first question, I have mostly been travelling. I was searching for Optimus and the other Autobots. It took nearly 4 million years, but it was worth it. The knowledge I have gained on my travels is very valuable to me at least."

Megatron laughed.

"I see you have not changed in that area. When you were a sparkling, you questioned everything and were never satisfied with an incomplete or lacking answer."

Lumen cleared her throat and looked at the Decepticon leader.

"I do have one question, now that we speak of it."

"Yes?"

"Who is the medic here?"

"If it is of a surgical nature, you will want to see Hook. Just make sure he takes his time. If you are in need of any kind of energon, you should go see Soundwave."

"Thanks."

Soundwave was standing by his communications center. When Lumen entered, it sounded like he had the sound on all of the monitors. To her, it sounded like nothing more than white noise with all those voices speaking at the same time.

"Can you really understand this?" She asked.

Soundwave turned his head and looked at her. He merely nodded and resumed his watching.

Lumen could feel her fuel pumping faster again. She still wasn't sure if it was fear or something else.

"I have a question…" She said, trying to sound relaxed, but failing miserably.

He didn't look at her, but kept his gaze on the monitors.

"What exactly does it entail when you bond with someone?"

Soundwave was still for a moment, then moved his hand and turned off all the monitors.

"How old are you exactly?" He asked.

"Eh, I…"

He finally looked at her.

"Logic dictates that this is something you should know."

She faltered a bit, feeling like a reprimanded child.

"I apologize if this is not a subject one should feel comfortable discussing."

He pressed the button on his shoulder.

"Rumble, Frenzy, eject!"

The two small cassettes jumped out of his chest. Rumble growling.

"Aw, and we were just getting to the good part."

"Leave us!" Soundwave ordered, and the two small Decepticons left the room, closing the door on their way out.

Lumen felt the courage she had been saving up for this conversation had already dissipated. She looked at him, not sure what to say.

Soundwave circled her once before he stood in front of her. He took her hand and examined it.

"Finding a bondmate is not something that is to be taken lightly. You will probably meet some that you think are right for you, but you will know in your spark if this is the right choice."

She nodded.

"Yes, I was told as much, but what… what happens between bonded mates?"

"You want the technical or the mental side?"

"Both?"

He smiled behind the mask. He slowly moved his hand down her arm, side and down to her waist.

"Behind this panel, you have a set of wires that you connect to your bondmate. That is the physical side. You will start to share your energon, and when both of you are ready, a small part of your sparks will flow with the energon and connect with each other. It's a feeling like no other… Or so I have been told."

He released her and turned to the blank monitors.

"How… How will you know if the person you have chosen is the right one?"

"You will know. You may deny it to yourself, but you will know."

Lumen said nothing. It took a few moments before the blue and white Decepticon started speaking again.

"I thought your escort in the woods were your bondmate."

"Mirage? No… We… We had something special, but he wanted something different than I."

Soundwave looked at her again.

"What was that?"

"It was… he wanted to treat me like I was something to put on display. He wanted to protect me from danger."

"And you do not wish to be protected?"

"I want nothing more than knowledge. I do not accept someone telling me that fire is hot; I need to feel the flames myself. I cannot learn when my attempts, no matter how dangerous they are, are being dumbed down and every bump in the road is smoothed out in advance."

"And yet you come to me, asking me to tell you about bonding, instead of experiencing it yourself?"

Lumen opened her mouth to say something, but realized she had absolutely no reply to that. It took her a moment to compose herself.

"I apologize again. I should leave before I make an even bigger fool of myself."

Lumen turned on her heel and managed to take one step before Soundwave had grabbed her wrist.

"You underestimate me, Lumen."

She looked at him, her fuel pump racing again.

"I have the best hearing of any of our kind. Did you think I couldn't hear the energon racing through your system every time you see me?"

Lumen felt the energon flushing to her cheeks. She dearly wished for the floor to swallow her up.

"I'm sorry…" She began.

"Why?"

"If I am being an inconvenience. I hope you do not take offence to my feelings. I really did not wish to cause you any discomfort…"

Lumen stopped ranting as Soundwave's mask retracted into his helmet. He pulled her close and crushed his lips against hers.

She had only ever kissed Mirage, and it had been nice… But this, this felt entirely different. It was almost as if she melded with him. It almost felt like they were one entity, and she was sad when he pulled back and broke the kiss.

"Primus…" She said, trying to get her air intake to work again.

"You are not one to be taken lightly, Lumen. You have been underestimated for too long."

She looked up at him, finding that his visor was dimmed, making it look a darker blood red.

"You… want me?"

He laughed, releasing his grip on her.

"I thought I made that clear already."

"Then do that again…"

Soundwave leaned in to kiss her, but was interrupted by the door opening, revealing the Decepticon leader. Rumble and Frenzy was running up behind him.

"We're sorry! We tried to keep him occupied!"

Megatron surveyed the scene.

"I thought we had discussed this, Soundwave?"

"Yes, Lord Megatron. It is as we discussed."

Megatron looked at Lumen.

"I hope you are secure in your choice of bondmate?"

Lumen nodded frantically.

"Then I'll leave you two alone." Megatron turned and left the room, dragging Rumble and Frenzy with him.

Lumen looked at Soundwave.

"Discussed what?"

"Megatron wanted you to make the first move. Otherwise you were off limits to me. I asked to court you a while ago, but he said it was entirely your choice if you wanted a bondmate or not."

"Oh…"

Soundwave watched her process the information she had been given. She suddenly shrugged and looked at Soundwave.

"Where were we?" She smiled.

Soundwave bent down again and locked the door as they kissed again.


	23. Cybertron exiled

Megatron and Lumen were finalizing the plans for the last raid.

"We need a distraction in order to pull this off. The Autobots have set up radio communication now. They won't be able to reach Cybertron for another cycle or two, but they will know the second we strike!"

Lumen looked at Megatron and smiled.

"That's okay. I have a plan that will make Optimus come running immediately."

She called up the plan on the monitor and watched Megatron as he read through it.

"And you are sure this will work?"

"I'm always sure of my plans."

Megatron nodded.

"You realize how dangerous it will be for you?"

"Of course."

"Then you have my permission to proceed."

"Optimus! Maria has been spotted. She's being pursued by Starscream. I think she's trying to escape!"

Optimus turned around and immediately joined Jazz and Ironhide at the temporary radio.

"Where? Give me the coordinates!"

Jazz looked up the position and Optimus called the others.

"Autobots, now is out chance! We need to blast that damn seeker out of the sky and save my daughter!"

The other Autobots followed Optimus as he revved up and rolled out, tires screeching from the speed.

Ironhide rolled up next to Optimus as they were making their way toward the coordinates where Maria seemed to be headed.

"I don't know Prime. This don't feel right with me!"

"We need to take this chance, Ironhide. Even if it means we have to take on Megatron himself."

"I'm not worried about Megatron, I'll blast his tailpipe all the way down to the scrapyard. I'm just wondering why the girl didn't make her way toward us. It makes my circuits sizzle."

Optimus didn't answer, but revved up again and pulled further ahead of the others.

They reached an area covered in thick woodlands when Maria blasted across the sky, closely followed by Starscream. The seeker was firing at the femme, but missing every shot.

Suddenly, Maria turned her nose upwards and ascended. Starscream fired a few more times, and it looked like he hit her wings. Maria spiraled out of control and flipped over a few times before she rapidly started declining. Optimus transformed and watched her tumbling down toward the wooded area.

Starscream fled the scene just as the femme crashed into the woods.

"Maria!" Optimus screamed.

He hurried into the wooded area, knocking over trees and kicking up dirt in the search for his daughter.

When he finally found her, she was standing in the middle of a clearing. She looked like she was waiting for him to arrive.

"Maria!"

Optimus hurried toward her, but stopped in his tracks when Megatron appeared behind her.

"Hello Prime…"

Prime immediately drew his weapon.

"Megatron… Release her!"

Megatron laughed out loud.

"Do I look like I'm the one holding her back?" Megatron said. He looked at Lumen with an overbearing smile.

"Will you tell him?"

Lumen turned around to face Optimus.

"Hello dad." She smiled.

Optimus immediately eyed the Decepticon symbol that had replaced the Autobot insignia she had carried.

"Maria?"

Lumen shook her head.

"I don't go by that name anymore. I have embraced my past. Unfortunately it also made me see what had to be done. And I knew that you would never let me do that!"

"So you joined the Decepticons? What kind of brainwashing scheme are you up to, Megatron?"

Megatron smirked.

"It was entirely her choice, Optimus. You really had no idea what you had. Who do you think planned out all these attacks? Who do you think planted the bombs in the Ark?"

Optimus aimed his gun at Megatron again.

"You're lying, Megatron!"

Lumen shook her head.

"No, dad. He isn't lying. I planted the bombs, I made the plans, I organized the distractions. I knocked out Sprocket so she would not be harmed. I followed Megatron. I followed my creator!"

Optimus snapped his head in Lumen's direction.

"He is not your creator! I am your father, I raised you!"

Lumen nodded.

"You raised me to see the needs of others before my own. I am doing what has to be done. This war is crippling all of us. I can make it better, I can make things right!"

"Stop this, Maria! This is not some kind of game!"

"I know, dad. You will know how serious I am. Now, the Decepticons have finished raiding two more power plants, while you were trying to convince me to come back to you. We are done here…"

Megatron took to the skies, hovering above them, waiting for Lumen to follow.

"Goodbye dad… Some day you will realize that I was right to do this."

Optimus looked at her. He was angrier than she had ever seen him before.

"If you fly with him… I can no longer call you my daughter, you can never call our bases home.."

Lumen sighed. She looked at Megatron for a moment, and then back at Optimus.

"I'm sorry, Prime…" She blasted off, following the Decepticon leader.

Optimus threw his ion cannon and screamed.

"Maria! No, I didn't mean it. I… I…"

Optimus watched them disappear into the clouds above. Ironhide had watched the whole scene from the edge of the clearing. He walked over and put his hand on Prime's shoulder.

"I'm sorry old friend…"

Optimus waved Ironhide's hand away.

"This is wrong! He must have brainwashed her! There's no other explanation. She wouldn't do this."

Ironhide walked after Optimus, who had begun walking out of the clearing.

"Prime, Your daughter was always radical in her opinions. Maybe she should have had more rules…"

Optimus stopped.

"No… I think she should have had her freedom. I tried protecting her from harm, and that only made her act out. I should have given her the freedom she wanted."

"Don't blame yourself, Prime."

"How can I not?" Optimus said, turning his head to look over his shoulder.

Ironhide didn't say anything. Optimus started walking again.

"I have to go tell the others…"

Lumen was recharging next to Soundwave as they approached Cybertron in the battle cruiser they had built for the first assault on the Autobot bases on Cybertron.

Megatron was on the bridge. The battle cruiser was cloaked, masking their entry into the Cybertronian atmosphere.

"What is her status?" Megatron asked without turning around.

"Recharge is 98.786% complete, Lord Megatron."

"Good, wake her up. We're beginning the assault in a few kliks. She has to be off the cruiser before we begin."

Lumen's optics lit up.

"Is it time?"

"Affirmative." Soundwave got up and followed Lumen over to the exit. Megatron turned around to look at them.

"Enjoy the havoc.."

Lumen smiled.

"Remember the coordinates. We're not trying to destroy the planet."

"Don't worry, we will drive the Autobots out of hiding like you said."

"Good."

With that, she jumped out of the ship and transformed. Soundwave waited a few seconds before he jumped after her.

Elita-1 was yelling orders, trying to get a bearing of where the bombs were landing.

"Chromia, I need a status report right away!"

"Sectors 1, 6, 8, 14, 15 and 17 are hit. They're missing all residential areas! Damages are substantial."

"Casualties?"

"We don't know yet, there haven't been any reports yet."

"We have to set up the aerial defense!"

"That'll use up all our energon!"

"Better to scavenge than lose the planet!" Elita yelled. She headed toward the door just as it slid open. Elita drew her gun, but lowered it when she saw Lumen entering.

"Maria?"

Chromia turned her head and looked at the femme who had just entered.

"Hello Elita." Lumen said.

"What in the name f Primus are you doing here?"

Lumen smiled.

"I'm here to end the war."

Elita groaned.

"By Primus! Why couldn't it have been someone useful?" She muttered.

Chromia got up from the chair.

"Maria, you can help me set up the aerial defense! Did you bring backup?"

"Yes I did. He will be here in a moment."

Chromia hurried over to Lumen, but stopped when she saw the Decepticon insignia that decorated her wings.

"Maria?"

Lumen drew the null ray she was carrying and shocked Chromia, who dropped to the floor.

Elita drew her weapon, but Lumen cut the blaster in half with the rapier she was carrying.

Soundwave appeared in the doorway.

"Damn you! You little traitor!"

Lumen held the rapier up.

"Maybe to your cause. My goals have changed. Nothing will happen as long as you keep this planet in lockdown."

"You really think you can change the world with these brutes as your allies?"

"No, I know I can. You're not willing to do what needs to be done. All Autobots are hereby exiled from Cybertron."

Elita made a move to attack, but was pacified by Soundwave. A squadron of Decepticons poured in through the door.

"Capture them all! And ready the ships for transport. We're taking this place back." Lumen ordered. She grabbed her comm unit and radioed Megatron.

"The femmes are being taken as we speak. I've ordered the ships for transport. How are you faring?"

"The Autobots are fighting back, but we will unleash the null ray in two kliks, when all have gathered on the plaza. Everything is going according to plan." The Decepticon leader answered.

"Excellent… The planet is ours, then."

It only took two astrocycles to gather every Autobot on the planet and lock them up in the prison ship. Lumen was expecting the prisoner transports when someone called after her.

"Maria! Do something!"

She turned and saw one of the young bots being shoved into the freezing tubes they had arranged for transport. She couldn't quite remember his name.

"Hot Rod, right?" She said, checking her datapad for confirmation.

"Are you with these brutes?"

"Yes."

"But, Prime…"

She looked at him with a smile.

"He will be waiting for you on earth. Have a nice trip."

"Wait!" He yelled, before the coolant covered him, effectively freezing his system.

She looked at the brutes.

"Is everything ready for transport?"

"Yes, commander."

"Commander?"

The brutes nodded and continued as Megatron approached them.

"I've named you my tactical commander. The others were starting to question your orders."

"Thank you."

She finished checking the last cells and closed her datapad.

"Everyone is checked and accounted for. I've taken the liberty to cross reference our prisoner manifest with the official records. There are a few missing persons, but I'm certain they have either perished or fled the planet. Anyone in hiding will be exiled as soon as they come out."

"Excellent."

Megatron and Lumen left the prisoner ship and watched the doors close.

"Start the countdown!" He ordered.

Six giant prison ships lifted off, heading toward Earth. Everyone were watching the ships as they slowly drifted out of sight. Then a giant roar ensued. Every Decepticon celebrating their victory. Megatron, Lumen, Soundwave and Starscream all left the celebrations to convene on the rebuilding process.


	24. Energon crisis

"This is unacceptable! We need more energon, and the solar panels we created are not running at optimal capacity." Lumen said. She was tossing papers around the table, trying to come up with an alternative to the only plan she had been able to think up.  
"What is the problem with your original plan?" Starscream asked. He sounded annoyed by the whole ordeal.  
"The problem is that is requires a full scale assault on Autobot City on earth. They have the only working capacitor needed to finalize the second phase of my plan!" Lumen replied with a half growl. Starscream shrugged.  
"And what exactly is the problem with that? The Autobots are weaklings… We're fully powered and ready for anything!"  
Lumen shut her optics for a moment, trying to calm herself. She was getting too worked up.  
"The problem lies in the fact that our source of energy is eating itself up as we speak. The Autobots will attack Cybertron as soon as they realize that we're running on the fumes! We know about the moon bases they set up, chances are they're keeping an eye on our activities. If we are attacked, we will be exiled just as we did to them 6 years ago."  
"Then we should attack the Moon bases!" Starscream hissed.  
"Don't be an idiot, Starscream." Megatron intoned.  
"Attacking the moon bases will only further empty our energon supply. If Lumen cannot come up with a plan to get more energon, we may as well invite the Autobots here and throw them a parade."  
Starscream stepped away from the table, and stretched himself.  
"Speaking of Energon. It's time to recharge. I will leave you and your 'tactical commander' to work in peace, 'lord' Megatron!"

Lumen and Megatron watched the aerial commander leave the room.  
"His insolence is exasperating!" Megatron said when Starscream had shut the door behind him.  
"He is as he always has been. Starscream is always vying for more power."  
"He will be Leader of the Decepticons one day… When he finally beats me in combat, he will be ready for it."  
Lumen put her hand on Megatron's arm.  
"Papa… Don't talk like that."  
He turned to look at her.  
"It is as it is. One day I will die, and it will be by Starscream's hand."  
"No! We will have restored order on Cybertron. We will have peace. This is my goal, you know this! Why do you persist in this fatalistic outlook?"  
He padded her on the cheek.  
"This war has gone on for millions of years. Do you really think it will be ended just because Cybertron is restored?"  
"Papa, I…" Her sentence was cut short as the doors opened again, revealing her bondmate in the doorway.  
"Lord Megatron, I am ready to report."  
Lumen took a step away from Megatron and moved toward the door.  
"I will finalize this plan… Maybe I can correct it to leave little or no casualties."  
Megatron nodded and watched her leave the room.

Ironhide was scratching his helmet, bored to tears from watching the feed from the spy cameras they had managed to get online. His optics expertly caught the movement on one of the monitors.  
"Prime!" He called, switching the feed to the big screen.  
"The tactical commander is outside."  
Optimus walked up behind Ironhide and watched the monitor.  
"Zoom in…"  
The camera followed Lumen's movements as she trekked across the rubble that covered the ground outside the base.  
"She's alone?" He asked.  
"Yes, Prime. But I know what you're thinking, and it's a moronic idea. If you fly down there, even if you managed to get past the turrets, the Decepticreeps will be all over your hide before she even realizes you're close."  
Optimus sighed.  
"I'm sorry, Ironhide."  
"Don't be. But try focusing your anger on kicking Megatron's exhaust across the galaxy!"  
Optimus did get a feel of that anger when he saw Megatron stepping into the frame. It looked like the Decepticon leader was striking up a conversation, but all of a sudden, Lumen seemed fiercely angered by his words. She gestured wildly, but didn't seem to get anywhere with Megatron.  
"I wonder what they are arguing about…"  
"Maybe she wants to blow up his base as well!"  
Optimus stepped away from the monitors, having seen enough of the spectacle.  
"Let our spies know about her whereabouts, maybe they will find information."

Lumen angrily shoved her datapad, with the plans over Autobot City, at Megatron..  
"This won't work! It will cost lives, and the recent reports haven't been conclusive enough to give us any hint on the location of the capacitor! Going to Earth is madness!"  
"I read the reports, and I trust the intel! Your plans are always well thought out. So I know we will emerge victorious!"  
Lumen turned around.  
"I am going to fly out for a while! I urge you to reconsider, though. I haven't run nearly enough scenarios to give any conclusive answer, and the few scenarios I have run all spell disaster!"  
She transformed and took off.

Lumen was walking around the ruins of the old Iacon library when Soundwave found her.  
"Commander, are you in need of assistance?"  
She turned to look at him.  
"At ease, Soundwave. We're alone here."  
Soundwave visibly relaxed and joined her as she walked around.  
"May I ask what draws you here?" He asked.  
"This was the Iacon library. I used to spend most of my time here."  
"Understood."  
They were silent for a while. Lumen picked up a few history disks now and then, but she didn't speak much.  
"You seem troubled?"  
She stopped. Her back still turned at him. She put the disks away.  
"Will you forgive me a moment's weakness?"  
"Affirmative."  
She turned and wrapped her arms around him, crushing her body against his.  
"Please Soundwave. Please bring him back! I cannot lose him again!" She cried. She was still holding on to him. He could feel her shoulders trembling. He put his arms around her and nodded.  
"As you command, my love."


	25. Return of a commander

"Still no word?"  
The Decepticon who was manning the communication center shook his head.  
"It has only been a short while, commander. They are probably on their way back now."  
"Let me know as soon as you hear anything."  
"As you command."

Lumen left the communication center and returned to her quarters. She hadn't recharged well. Something wasn't right.  
She had felt something inside. Almost like her spark had short circuited inside her chest. She was dreading the return of the other Decepticons. She knew it would only bring bad news.  
"Commander! Astrotrain is returning!"  
She joined the others as they flocked to the landing pad. Soundwave was the first to leave the beaten up Decepticon, much to the loud dismay of Starscream. Soundwave wasted no time, but hurried over to the femme and dragged her with him. It wasn't until they reached her quarters that he finally was willing to speak.

"Soundwave, where is my father?" she asked, knowing the answer to the question already.  
"Lord Megatron fought the Autobot leader. He was badly damaged, but alive when I carried him into Astrotrain."  
"What happened!" She demanded.  
"They had to unload dead weight…"  
Lumen felt her chest tightening up. She couldn't breathe, but still managed to comment.  
"And he was determined to be dead weight…"  
"I didn't realize Starscream had thrown him out… Not until he proclaimed himself leader of the Decepticons. I tried to throw him off track and start a fight, but in the end, it was futile…"  
Lumen was about to say something when the door opened and Starscream entered.  
"You are missing my coronation ceremony. I do hope you have an excellent excuse."  
Lumen cleared her throat.  
"Soundwave was reporting the demise of our leader. We will be with you shortly… Lord Starscream."  
Starscream seemed pleased with her tone and left them alone. Soundwave looked at her.  
"You are taking this too well…"  
She looked back to him.  
"Starscream's reign will be short. My father was alive when he was tossed out, was he not?"  
"Affirmative."  
"Good…"  
Lumen eyed Soundwave.  
"There is something you're not telling me…"  
Soundwave nodded.  
"Tell me what it is."  
Soundwave nodded slowly.  
"The Autobot leader was badly damaged… We got word on the way that Optimus Prime perished from the injuries he sustained while fighting Megatron."  
Lumen took a step back, turned around and locked her optics on a spot on the wall. She remained silent for a few moments.  
"Lumen?"  
"I would like to be alone for a few minutes… tell the others that I will join the…" She felt nauseated by the word. "…coronation, as soon as I can."  
"As you command."

When Lumen heard the door shut behind her, she took another couple of steps and sat down on the chair. She hadn't expected that the Autobot leader would perish as a result of her planning. She had expected the plan for Autobot City to fail, but not like that.  
She bit down her desire to weep and got up from her seat. When she came out of her quarters, Soundwave was waiting for her.  
"Are you ready?"  
"Yes… Let's get this over with."

As they joined the others, Starscream was getting ready on the plateau.  
"Before we celebrate the joyous occasion that is my rise to leadership. I would like to tell you that I have made some changes in our ranks."  
He looked at Lumen, who was standing near the back of the ranks.  
"Because of the recent failures in the plans for finding ways to supply our ranks with energon, and the horrible planning that cost our former leader his life, I will strip Lumen of her rank as tactical commander!"  
Murmurs went through the crowd. Soundwave was about to protest, but Lumen put her hand on his arm.  
"No… Remember what I told you."  
Soundwave stepped back, still fuming. They all watched as the ceremony started. Starscream had gone all out. Adorning a ridiculous cape, that would most likely constrict him from transforming properly. Astrotrain crowned the Seeker with a head ornament that Lumen could only describe as comical.  
Suddenly, everyone was jumping for their lives as a jet flew in through the crowd and ejected a transformer they hadn't seen before.  
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy."  
"Megatron, is that you?"  
"Here's a hint!"  
With that, the stranger transformed and shot Starscream. Everyone watched in shock as the seeker crumbled before their eyes.  
The stranger transformed and turned to the others.  
"Will anyone else attempt to fill his shoes?"  
Rumble looked at Soundwave.  
"What did he say his name was?"  
Acknowledging the comment as an acceptance of his supremacy, the stranger finally gave his name.  
"Galvatron…"  
It felt like a sigh of relief. The Decepticons had averted the obviously painful leadership of the Seeker commander, and been gifted a new, stronger, leader.

Soundwave and Lumen joined the new Leader as he marched toward Megatron's quarters.  
Soundwave was the first to speak.  
"Starscream did manage a single command in his short-lived reign… He absolved Lumen from her rank of tactical commander."  
"Good. At least the idiot managed to do something useful in my absence."  
Lumen was a bit taken aback by the comment.  
"Excuse me?"  
Galvatron turned and looked at the femme.  
"Your plans still haven't gotten us any closer to destroy the Autobots and achieve domination!"  
"That was never my intention, and you know this."  
"I will not discuss this any further."  
He, and his new entourage shut the door behind them, leaving Soundwave and Lumen in the hallway.  
Lumen stared at the door for a few moments.  
"Soundwave… I have a very bad feeling about this."  
Soundwave looked at her.  
"Maybe it will take some time… We do not know what happened to them out there."  
"Yes… Of course. I shall speak with him in private later."

Lumen knocked on Galvatron's door. She was intent on speaking to him about what had happened before their return. What had sparked their, for a lack of better word, transformation.  
"Enter."  
Lumen watched the door slide open. She took two steps in and felt the door closing and locking behind her.  
"Why have you come?"  
"I wish to speak with you. The others may not ask openly, but I know everyone is wondering about your change in design, if I may call it that."  
Galvatron didn't turn away from the window, but she guessed he was watching her reflection in the glass.  
"The others are wise. What makes you think I will tell you?"  
Lumen felt uneasy. She was starting to doubt who this impersonator was. Of course he was honest about his name. But was he really the one who used to be Megatron?  
"I had hoped you would be honest with me."  
He laughed. Not a fatherly, nor a friendly one. It sounded devoid of any real feeling. It felt like chills were going through her neural system. He turned around and moved in on her.  
"Why would I want to let you in on any of my thoughts? You are merely a runaway. And whatever games we used to play, consider them a thing of the past."  
"Papa? What is…"  
He slapped her across the face hard enough for her to fall.  
"Do not get smart with me. I have no use for your pet names. Megatron was weak willed. I will not make the same mistakes as him."  
He grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up.  
"You can't even fight… You may think you are some kind of prodigy. That your master plans will save us all and deliver us to some kind of paradise. You will soon realize, the only thing you are useful as, is someone's plaything. You are lucky that you are already bonded. I might have forced a bond with you, if only to keep myself entertained when I am here. Do not get any thoughts of grandeur, that is the only thing you will ever be good for."  
He tossed her toward the door. Lumen got up from the floor and hurried out as soon as Galvatron opened the door.  
As much as she felt ashamed and frightened, she had a completely new sense of enlightenment. Whatever he professed, he was not Megatron.


	26. The fall of the wise

Lumen did not share her thoughts on Galvatron with anyone. Soundwave knew something was up, but did not push the subject.

Galvatron had conquered the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.  
Being unable to fit it into his chest, he wore it around his neck in a chain. Some had held their breath when he first confronted Lumen with it.  
Some were afraid of the power it could wield. Others were more anticipating some sort of reaction between the matrix and Prime's daughter.  
They were disappointed, as nothing happened. The Matrix didn't even flinch, and Lumen had only managed to look bored.  
This fact only antagonized Galvatron, who grabbed her by the neck.

"How do you open it?"  
"I don't know. The matrix chooses its vessel. Not the other way around. I don't know any way to open it with force."

Galvatron tossed her aside. He spoke to himself.  
"Maybe it just needs the right moment. Maybe if I confront Unicron with the Matrix, it will open to me. I will be the most powerful matrix carrier ever seen… Yes, that must be it."

He turned to Lumen.  
"Come with me."  
Lumen had already gotten to her feet. She turned to Soundwave and grabbed his hand.  
"No matter what… Don't fight for me now."  
Soundwave didn't understand her words. He just nodded and reluctantly watched her leave.

Outside, Galvatron was waiting impatiently. He started walking when Lumen came out. She followed him through the Cybertronian landscape. The bombarded surroundings were an eerie setting for what Lumen knew was about to come.

Galvatron came to a halt near the pits. An endless dark crevasse into the center of Cybertron. The harrowing winds and pitch black darkness had kept it from being explored.  
She was admiring the possibility of exploring it someday, calculating different approaches to cut through the darkness and tearing winds when Galvatron suddenly spoke.  
"I think your usefulness has run its course."

Of course, Lumen thought. That was what they were here for.  
She would have to forget about her pursuit of knowledge. She kept looking around, taking in the sights of all the things she wouldn't be able to investigate.

"You wish me to leave?" She asked, still clinging on to a tiny spark of hope. The look in Galvatron's eyes extinguished that hope.

"A liability… that is what you are. You know too much. Allowing you to return to the Autobots is a mistake I can't afford. At the same time I cannot let you wander among my troops. You know too much."  
"You mean the fact that you are not Megatron, and you never have been?"

Galvatron raised his arm, aiming his cannon at her. Lumen didn't seem fazed by it, or she kept her cool really well.  
"Who shares your suspicion?"

Lumen kept looking at him, hoping he would believe the truth. The unfortunate thing about Galvatron was that his descent into madness was getting in the way of his common sense… Of course, wasn't that the case with all madness?

"Nobody. I think anyone who suspects it… They simply don't care."  
"And your bond mate?"  
"I knew it would come to this, so I never told him what I thought. I didn't want him to get in harm's way."

Galvatron lowered his cannon and grabbed onto her shoulder.  
"Sentimental nonsense. I will make sure he does not stay alone for long. Enjoy the thought of him with another bond mate as I send you to hell!"

Lumen had expected him to shoot her and be done with it. She hadn't mentally prepared for the pain as he tore her wings off and snapped the cords in her back, rendering her unable to use her legs.  
He dropped her on the ground and she watched as he threw her wings into the crevasse.

Lumen had hoped she would be able to keep a straight face until the end. But she realized she was afraid. Well, maybe afraid wasn't the right term for it. She was terrified. She didn't want it to end like this.  
She started crying as Galvatron turned at her.  
Although she hated the thought of putting fuel on the fire, she started clawing at the ground, pulling herself away from Galvatron.  
For a split second, she hoped Soundwave would come to her aid, but she knew it would only get him killed as well.  
Soundwave… She didn't want to leave him behind.

She cried even harder when Galvatron easily caught up to her and grabbed her by the neck.  
"Please don't… I don't want to die." She sobbed, as he dragged her over to the edge by her heels. She clawed at the ground, trying to hold on.  
He grabbed her head and twisted it in his direction. He then took a firm hold of her arm and forearm and pulled her closer.  
"That's right, Autobot. Beg for mercy!"

"Please!" She whimpered, tears still running freely.  
Galvatron twisted her forearm around, breaking it out of the socket. Lumen took a sharp breath and cried out, unable to properly scream from the pain, the sound that came out sounded more like a high pitched feedback than an actual vocalization.

Galvatron only smiled.  
No, mercy was not in his repertoire.  
He swung her out over the edge and released his grip on her, his eyes locked on the limp form as she spiraled into the darkness.  
And then he left.


	27. Rise again

The winds were not as strong at the bottom of the crevasse... Or maybe it was the giant crater she had created upon impact that shielded her from the wind. Either way, the wind was the least of Lumen's concerns. She didn't think that there was a single weld, crack or orifice that wasn't leaking energon. Her diagnostics system was running like mad, trying to establish all the damage done to the system. Her failsafe and repair-systems had both been scrambled by the impact. She couldn't move her legs, and her left arm was impaled by something she had hit on the way down.

She tried to turn her head, but gave up when she couldn't see anything but debris around her. She had even managed to land on one of her wings. It was probably bent completely out of shape now.

She cried again. The pain was horrible and she tried to stop herself. She couldn't move, she couldn't repair herself, and life was running out of her with nothing to stop it.

She finally composed herself enough to stop crying. She thought of Soundwave. At least he had completed her…

She thought of Cybertron. What would happen to her home now that Galvatron had control over it?

"I wish I could have saved you. I wanted nothing more than to see you prosper again…" She whispered.

"We know." Someone suddenly answered.

Lumen was still too weak to turn her head. She looked up, but only saw a faint blue light shining from somewhere behind her.

"We only want to ask you something…" The voice said.

"I'll answer if you ask it quickly."

"Do you really think you have all the answers? Can you save this planet? Why should it be you?"

Lumen was silent for a few moments. The voice was still awaiting her reply when she suddenly said,

"Yes! I could have saved the planet! It was my task." She drew in a few short and ragged breaths before she screamed. "I could have done it! I am the smartest of them all. I know what must be done!"

She kept yelling, not really caring what the voice would think. "Those fools. Nobody understood my vision! Everyone only thought of war and conquest. Nobody saw the corruption or the pain! Power, greed, and self preservation is their creed."

Lumen grew silent; the last part was only mumbled. "Everyone wanted power for themselves… I would have taken the power for all, had I been given the chance… I was the smartest."

The voice didn't say anything for a while. Then suddenly his face came into view. A face she had seen countless times… Just never like this. Not animated or alive. And not with the powerful blue optics that looked at her now. "You are…"

He smiled. "Yes… I am. We have a gift for you, and a mission, if you choose to accept it."

"Will I save my home?"

He laughed softly. "He was right about you."

He leaned closer and put his hand on the broken glass in her chest. "Just shut down for now and everything will be clear to you when you wake up."

When Lumen finally came back online, the pain was gone. She was lying in a small room, a faint blue glow the only source of light. She sat up and checked herself. Her body was exactly as it was before Galvatron had maimed her. Yet… she had a distinct feeling that something was missing.

"You are not mistaken. Something is missing from you." The voice from before was heard from a dark corner in the room. She hadn't noticed his optics, as they weren't illuminated as brightly as they had been when he hovered above her.

"I feel hollow…" Lumen said, as she turned to look at the other robot.

"We watched you for a long time, Lumen. He was very interested in your fight. But in order to complete your plans, we needed something from you to create the last piece."

Lumen shook her head. "I don't understand."

"You carried a completed spark within you. Normally, you would have given this spark to your own creation along with your bondmate. But this one we allowed to form within you. And then we stole it from you."

Lumen took a step back when she realized what had been done. The Last Autobot took her arm and guided her over to the source of the light. A delicate ornament lay on the table, and this was the source of the blue light that shimmered in the room. Lumen studied it carefully. The center was elliptical with a crystal covering, but the handles were shaped like triquetras. In the center, a blue smoky substance flowed behind the crystal.

The Last Autobot put his hands on her arms. "Will you take this? And accept your mission?"

Lumen slowly reached out toward the delicate object. Her thoughts were racing. Doubts of all kind flooded her, and it wasn't until her fingers rested on the object that her mind calmed.

"I will do this." She said.

The Last Autobot smiled. "Then you will know your task, Luminous Prime."


	28. Get me out of here

It had taken hours for Lumen to get back to the surface of Cybertron. The winds had been violent, and the ascent had been a grueling experience. She had tried to fly, but the winds had been too much for her lithe form. In the end, she had to climb up against the rocky surface with her heel jets as a means of lift. At least the winds near the walls had been less horrific.

She had stayed in the underground for a few days, trying to satisfy her curiosity regarding the caverns and lakes that was present beneath the surface of Cybertron. She had brought a few samples with her, for further study.

Lumen finally managed to crawl over the edge of the crevasse. She took a few moments to steady herself, staying on her hands and knees while celebrating her own private victory of having scaled the damn wall. She got up on her feet and composed herself. As she stretched, she took in the wonderful sight of the night sky. That was, until a large and ugly face hovered into her field of vision. She took a step back in shock, nearly falling backward into the pit. It took a few seconds for Lumen to process what she was seeing exactly.

Unicron... Or rather, what was left of him. Severed from his body and missing an eye, the planet eater continued his lazy crawl across the sky.

Lumen knew she had to go to the decapitated remains, but flying there could prove a challenge. She wasn't built to fly into orbit, but maybe she could find a ship. After all, the Decepticon base wasn't far away.

As she trekked across the landscape, she felt a pulse under her. Almost like a dying heartbeat. Cybertron was struggling to stay alive, but inside, she could feel that it was merely a small cramp of a dying planet. The Matrix of leadership had been opened to kill Unicron. It had given the planet enough of a boost to re-energize for a very short time. Had Galvatron managed to open the matrix? Or was it someone else?

Lumen stopped just short of the Decepticon base. She watched the entrance for a while, surprised to find it wide open. Like the base had been abandoned in haste. Scrap lay outside the entrance like they had up and vanished, grabbed all they could hold, but left whatever fell behind.

It was with a hollow heart that she found the base had been abandoned. Everyone gone, the base echoed eerily as she made her way to the communication center. The door slid open and revealed her beloved's many monitors still in place. They were turned off. Forever silenced and covered in a layer of dust. How long had she been gone exactly? She pushed the button to start up the communication system. Maybe that would provide her with answers.

As the machine started up, Lumen rummaged through the leftovers, trying to find anything that could be of use in her travels.

"Lumen…"

The femme turned her head and looked at the monitors. She was elated for a moment, until she realized that her bondmate's voice was a pre-recorded message.

"I managed to make this message play if you entered this room. I'm sorry that I have to do this quick, but the Autobots have retaken Cybertron, and the Decepticons are fleeing. I don't know where we are going, but if you are still alive…"

He paused, his normally ice cold exterior faded and for a brief moment, his optics told her exactly how painful the message was to record for him.

"… We will be together again, Lumen. Galvatron is mad, and I know why he got rid of you. You knew too much. You always have. I will wait for you."

The message ended in static, and Lumen stood there for a while, her spark aching. It had only been a short while, but she missed him like she hadn't seen him in a million years.

"Such pathetic nonsense. I never thought that blue fool would have been smart enough to get to you!"

Lumen swirled around, but found no one in the room. She recognized the voice, however. That high pitched tone was not to be mistaken.

"Starscream? But you're…"

"Dead? Yeah… Turns out my spark is not as easy to destroy as my body was."

Lumen tried to ascertain what direction the voice was coming from, but it seemed like it was coming from all over.

"Show yourself."

Starscream, or rather, the ghost of him, faded into existence near the door.

"So… They left you behind?" He asked.

Lumen shrugged.

"Not as much left behind as Galvatron tried to destroy me."

"And you are going back to them?"

"No."

Lumen tried to access the equipment records, but the computer slowly faded out from the lack of energy.

Starscream watched her for a while with a smug grin. When she finally gave up on the records, he cleared his throat.

"Let me guess." He started.

Lumen looked at him, an exasperated look in her eyes.

"You want to get off the planet. You probably have some sort of plan, because let's face it, you always do. And I guess you can't go to the Autobots because you blew up their base, threw them off of Cybertron and got Optimus Prime killed. Am I right?"

Lumen crossed her arms and stared him down. She didn't say anything, but a small nod affirmed his suspicions.

"Good. I have a proposition for you. I know where you can find a ship. It's fueled and loaded with energon and equipment."

Lumen perked up a bit, but she retained her skeptical view of him.

"And if you know where this ship is, why didn't Galvatron just take it when they left?"

"Because Galvatron didn't know about it. It was my personal little escape plan."

Lumen grinned, realizing that she may have underestimated Starscream. He could be dumb, but he did have a backup plan.

"And what do you need in return?" She asked, knowing full well there would be a price on her freedom.

Starscream disappeared and reappeared right in front of her.

"As soon as we are off this planet, you start building me a body!"

Lumen turned it in her head for a while, weighing the pros and cons of the deal.

"I will build you your body. But do not expect it to be any stronger than your old one."

Starscream's optics narrowed. He seemed to weigh her words for a while. Then he nodded.

"Deal."


	29. Getting ahead

"I need you to keep watch while I investigate this."

Lumen steered the ship through the eye of the decapitated Unicron. She landed the ship on the dilapidated floor, but kept the engine running to make sure they could get away in a hurry if need be.

"You can't be serious. This place is creepy as hell. You're inside a head!"

"This won't take long, If the Autobots saw us take off, we need to work fast. I need you to keep an eye out. You need me, remember?"

Starscream sneered, but his exasperated sigh made her know he gave in. He disappeared from sight and left Lumen to explore the surroundings.

It was like her spark was pulsating from excitement. It wasn't the usual exploration thrill. It was something deeper. Like there was something in the head of the planet-eater that she had to find. Something to guide her. Give her purpose. She was told in the underground that she knew her mission, but honestly, she only knew it was her task to restore Cybertron. How she was going to do that was still unknown.

But when she had seen Unicron's head as she came up to the surface, she knew that this wretched place was the first step to understanding her journey.

It was subtle, but when she first laid eyes on it, she knew that this item was exactly what she had come to find. This was the reason her very essence had beat against her frame. A wholly anonymous object to anyone but her. As she put her hands around it, unearthing it from the scrap that was strewn about from the destruction of the monster she was inside, she smiled. It confirmed all her suspicions. All her doubts and fears, her nightmares… A simple miner's helmet.

"Papa…" She whispered.

She had been right all along. Galvatron was not the recreation of her creator. He never had been. He was a replacement. A tool used by Unicron to get to the Matrix of Leadership.

As she stood up with the helmet in her hands. The feeling of purpose subsided. Her task here was done.

She still, however, had another promise to keep.

She returned to the ship and called to Starscream, who appeared almost immediately.

"The Autobots don't seem to have noticed us. They're probably too drunk or too cocksure to care."

Starscream noticed the helmet when Lumen gingerly put it on a shelf, almost as if she was afraid to scratch it further.

"That's what you came for? Your obsession with Megatron is borderline creepy."

Lumen turned to him, ignoring his remark.

"I think I may find some parts for your resurrection here. If there was a part of Megatron here, I may find a few parts from Skywarp and Thundercracker as well. But I need your help in finding them. You can probably survey the area a lot faster than I can."

Starscream did not reply. He disappeared and Lumen gathered that he had left the ship to do as she had asked.

While he was gone, she set up a surveillance perimeter and downloaded schematics for repairing Cybertronians. She also gathered information on sparkling building, as it would probably be useful if she could convert it to a larger scale.

It was only a few hours later that Starscream returned with news of various usable body parts that were strewn around in the giant head. Lumen immediately collected any and all usable materials. It wasn't long before she could finally plot a new course and leave Cybertron behind.


	30. A window to the past

Sprocket was cycling through the different camera feeds that had been saved after the Autobots retook Cybertron. The commander had demanded to know where Lumen had disappeared to after the Decepticons fled the planet. So far, it had been hours upon hours of footage of absolutely nothing.

Sprocket grabbed the one of the last discs from the security camera and fed it into the machine she had been put at for the task. Axle had been by several times, asking for an update for the commander, but nothing had been his answer. All they knew was that Lumen hadn't been among the Decepticons who fled the planet. They had checked those cameras first. Of course, they could have missed something. The cameras had all died only a few weeks after the Autobots had taken over. The lack of energon was putting a strain on all the systems, and all but a few of the most important cameras had been taken offline. Things were mostly peaceful anyway.

Galvatron had taken the dead planet of Charr, but other than that, the Decepticons were silent. Maybe they knew that Cybertron was as good as dead anyway. The planet was literally running on the fumes.

Sprocket was glancing at the monitor every now and then, but the video feed could just as well have been a still-image.

There was talk among the Autobots that Cybertron was going to become a dead planet. They weren't even sure if they had enough energon to get off the planet. Dire times were ahead.

Sprocket pushed the fast forward button and kept her optics on the screen. She stopped abruptly when Galvatron suddenly appeared in the frame. She pressed play and watched as the lithe form Lumen entered the frame as well. The thin femme didn't seem to be paying attention to the Decepticon leader. But he suddenly spoke up, and Sprocket paused the tape. She had to get the commander.

Optimus had decided that no matter what, he would get his daughter back where she belonged. She couldn't stay with Galvatron a moment longer than absolutely necessary. When Sprocket called him, he had left everything he was doing behind to find out where she was. He almost pounced on the monitor when he finally saw the visage of his daughter again. He had to know where she had gone.

Pressing play, he had to turn up the volume to hear what they were saying.

"You wish me to leave?"

"A liability… that is what you are. You know too much. Allowing you to return to the Autobots is a mistake I can't afford. At the same time I cannot let you wander among my troops. You know too much."

"You mean the fact that you are not Megatron, and you never have been?"

Optimus rewound the tape. He had to make sure he had heard correctly. Maria… Or Lumen, as she called herself, seemed more than sure that Galvatron and Megatron wasn't the same.

Sprocket joined the commander just as Galvatron pointed his cannon at the girl. Optimus was sitting at the edge of his seat, but still he seemed strangely calm. Sprocket suddenly wished she had seen the tape fully before alerting the commander. If Galvatron hurt the femme, she wouldn't know how Optimus would react.

Optimus went rather wide eyed when Galvatron mentioned that Lumen had a bondmate. For a moment, he curled his fingers, fuming at the thought of any Decepticon putting their hands on his daughter.

He didn't even hear what Galvatron said before hell broke loose on the monitor.

Galvatron grabbed the femme by the neck, and in a swift motion, he tore each wing straight off her back. Apparently, he did enough damage to disconnect her legs, because they went limp and crumbled under her body as Galvatron tossed her onto the ground before throwing her wings into the deep belly of the planet.

Sprocket grabbed onto the edge of the seat that Optimus occupied. She had been mad at Maria for a long time. She had blown up their home on Earth and betrayed them all. But she had been her friend, and she was still Optimus' daughter.

A wail pierced their ears, both realizing at the same time that the femme was crying. She tried clawing away from the mad Decepticon. But the weight of her own body was too much for her, and Galvatron grabbed onto her ankle, dragging her behind him over to the edge where he had just discarded her wings.

Sprocket put her hand over her mouth, trying to hold back the tears. She kept hoping that something would happen. Someone would interfere with the senseless torture. But the worst part was the look in Lumen's optics. She didn't try to do a hero's death. A stoic, silent fuck you to her oppressor. No, she was terrified

"No. Please! I don't want to die, please!" She kept repeating through her tears. Galvatron grabbed her by the head and forced her to look at him, asking her to beg for her life.

"Please!"

Sprocket choked. She wanted to look away from the monitor. She hoped that somehow, someone would save her old friend.

Galvatron responded by tearing her arm out of its socket before her swung her over the edge and released her.

Sprocket was nearly knocked back by Optimus as he stood up so abruptly.

"No! No. There has to be more!" Optimus fast forwarded the tape. A few hours later, Soundwave showed up. He seemed to scan the area, but remained ever emotionless. Optimus looked at the dark blue decepticon and screamed.

"Where were you? Did you even care at all! You bastard, you piece of scrap."

Again he fast forwarded the tape, nothing. The tape ended and Optimus started tearing through the other tapes.

"Where's the rest?"

Sprocket shook her head.

"That's… that's all there is. The last tape only shows the Decepticons fleeing. And then a few days of nothing… Optimus…"

Optimus fell back into the chair and stared at the monitor. He rewound the tape and paused at Lumen just before the onslaught. Sprocket put her hand on his shoulder and gave him the most apologetic look she could muster. He didn't even look at her, but kept staring at the monitor.

Sprocket left the room and returned to her and Axle's quarters. She sat down on a bench and waited until Axle returned from his duties. He didn't manage a word before he saw the expression on her face.

"Sprocket? Are you okay?" He tried, full well knowing that there was something wrong.

Sprocket looked at her bondmate.

"No… Axle, it was terrible!"

Axle was by Sprocket's side immediately. Tears were falling from her optics and she almost buried herself in his arms.

"She's dead, Axle. Galvatron tore her apart. She was just so scared and alone… I don't know what to do."

Axle knew who she was talking about. Sprocket had been one of the very few Autobots who had vocally defended the small femme when other Autobots would have rather seen her hang for her betrayal. Of course she had been mad, but Sprocket also knew the reasoning behind Lumen's actions. She wanted her freedom, and now she had paid a horrible price for it.

Hey you there. This is a stick-up. Give me all your reviews! Yeah, the spare ones in your jeans pocket too!


	31. A few bumps in the road

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

Starscream was watching the Lumen work on what was going to be his new body. She was keeping her promise that his body was not going to be any stronger, but he had been hovering over her to make sure she wasn't making him any weaker. Much to her dismay, he had also been giving her pointers on things that had annoyed him with his earlier body.

"I really don't know, Starscream. I have never tried to build a body before. I'm going by a larger scale of a sparkling body, so we're just going to have to see!"

At one point, she had nearly walked away from the project when he started a row of inappropriate comments when she had worked on the more 'personal' parts of his new body. She had only returned to work when he threatened to haunt her forever instead.

At the moment, she was putting the finishing touches on the chassis and testing the currents in the wiring to make sure nothing was going to blow a fuse once he booted up himself. So far, nothing was out of order. She had to fill up the energon chamber a few times because a couple of leaks had sprung when she had stress tested the limbs.

When the chassis was complete, she would have to do a forced transformation test to see if anything was off, and then he would be free to try to possess the spark chamber of his new body. Hopefully it would work, but nothing was certain.

"How much longer is it going to take?"

Lumen threw the wrench she was holding at the apparition behind her. It passed through him without even fazing him.

"I don't know! It's going to take a whole lot longer if you don't shut up and let me work, you stupid piece of slag!"

Starscream just grinned.

"For someone as supposedly smart as you, you really do copy your insults from our dearly departed leader."

Lumen got to her feet and retrieved the wrench from the corner of the room. She didn't dignify Starscream with an answer. He seemed to have taken the hint though, as he remained silent for quite a while.

"Check the flight plan. I need to know when we arrive at Antilla."

"Antilla? Are you nuts? That place is a deathtrap!"

"I know all about Antilla's history with cosmic rust, so don't think I'm ignorant of the subject. I had my coating of Corrostop shortly after I arrived on earth, so I'm immune, and you are dead."

"Yeah, but what about my new body?" Starscream shrieked as he visualized his new body getting eaten up by the cosmic plague that had nearly wiped them out on earth.

Lumen finished screwing in the last piece of chassis before she turned to the ghost behind her.

"We are not landing on the planet. I need to see if any parts have survived down there."

Starscream said nothing, but disappeared from sight. A moment later, the ship computer announced the arrival at Antilla. Lumen went into the cockpit and set the ship to maintain orbit around the planet.

"I'll be back soon. Then I'll stress test the transformation and your body should be ready." Lumen shouted before she entered the airlock and exited the ship.

She was halfway down to the planet, enjoying the silence that space always ensured, when something suddenly hit her in the back. A stinging pain engulfed her and her entire body went limp before she promptly offlined.

When Lumen woke up, she was back on the ship, lying on the floor as if someone had casually dropped her and left her to wake on her own. Her head was pounding and every joint felt sluggish from the lack of proper oil flow.

"Don't worry, it'll pass in a few minutes. A small side effect of the null-ray."

Lumen raised her head and found Starscream hovering above her. Not in his ethereal form, but in the body she had built for him.

"What…"

"I figured I could stress test it fine on my own. You said Galvatron tore you apart. You have no idea what the hell happened to you down in the depths, you don't even know if your body is still the same as it was before." Starscream growled. He moved away from her line of sight, and Lumen didn't feel like moving her head after him.

"You might call me an idiot, but you could just as easily have doomed yourself to either die from crumbling to dust, or have to go to Cybertron and beg the Autobots for a few drops of Corrostop. And do you honestly think they would give you anything? The Autobots would probably just let you rot for your crimes."

Lumen was still for a while. The pounding in her head was subsiding, and her sluggish joints were feeling better already. She finally managed to sit up. Starscream was shrugging his shoulders back and forth and moving his arms and legs to test his newfound corporeality. He seemed satisfied.

"Hey, you even managed to iron out that little kink I had when I moved my right leg."

"Thank you…" Lumen said.

Starscream looked at her with an odd expression.

"Hey, maybe I didn't want you to bring that slag back here. You never know with my new body. Some of the parts might not have been coated with Corrostop!"

Lumen shook her head.

"No, I mean… Thank you for not just taking off and leaving me behind. Because you could have."

Starscream fell silent. He just stared at her like he'd just eaten something sour.

"We'll be at Gigantion soon. Just take it easy until then, and you can continue your little quest."

Starscream turned around and left the sickbay where he had dropped her.

Lumen recharged until the ship computer alerted her of the imminent arrival at the planet of Gigantion.

Gigantion was a planet ripe with builders. Just the thing she needed for her plan.

Starscream landed the ship and followed her out. He kept his distance when she met with some of the giant builders, and all the while she was gathering materials from the giant robots, he kept quiet. He carried the materials for her, even though they had to make several trips, but not one single word was uttered the entire day. When they took off, Lumen was going through her check list in the cockpit, and Starscream just plotted in the coordinated she gave him after she had gone through her list of what she needed.

After half the day had passed in silence, Lumen tore herself away from the datapad and looked at Starscream.

"Did I offend you earlier, Starscream?"

He gave her a look like she had to be kidding him.

"No, you just did a very good job at calling me a backstabbing coward who would abandon someone to their death at the earliest convenience!"

Lumen leaned back in her seat and put the datapad away.

"I apologize, but isn't that exactly what you did to Megatron?"

Starscream made the same sour face he had earlier.

"He came back anyway, didn't he? Slagtard even got a strong new body to show for it!"

Lumen shook her head.

"No… Whatever Galvatron is, he isn't Megatron, and he never was. He may have some of his memories and traits, but he is not Megatron."

"And how would you know?"

Lumen grabbed her datapad again, trying to signal that the conversation was over.

"I just do."

Starscream looked at the femme for a while, before he leaned back into his seat with a smug grin on his face.

"So… the rumors were true? Megatron did take you as his consort?"

"This conversation is over." Lumen said as she got out of her chair. She headed toward the research lab and started gathering her materials. She still had a lot of work to do.


	32. Something is coming

Starscream and Lumen made a short stop at the New Kaon colony to stock up on supplies. Starscream demanded that they visit a bar and gets something to drink before they left.

"If I have to settle for another regular energon drink one more time, I'm going to blast the airlock and be done with it!" Starscream yelled. Lumen shushed him. Grabbing him by the wing and dragging him to the nearest bar.

"If it will shut you up, then we'll go! We don't need anyone seeing us and reporting to Galvatron that we're on the loose! He'll just hunt us down and make it a do-over!"

Starscream just laughed and nonchalantly opened the door for the femme. She entered the bar, quickly scanning the room to make sure there were no familiar faces. Of course… if there was a single familiar face she wanted to see, it was that of her bondmate.

Lumen sat in a corner to ensure that nobody would spot them and Starscream went to the bar to get drinks. He returned with two vials of isotopic energon. Something Lumen had hoped she wouldn't encounter again in the next few vorns. He handed her the vial and grinned.

"Just one! If you don't empty it all at once, you'll take it much better, I promise."

Lumen took the vial from his hand and took a little sip. He was right. The effect wasn't such a rush as it had been the first time. It was more of a tingle through her system. It felt good, but didn't last for more than a few moments. Starscream nodded.

"See, I told you so."

Lumen nodded.

"I wish someone had told me this the first time. Might have spared me from some unpleasantness."

Starscream put his vial down on the table and leaned back on his seat.

"So, tell me. Why did the daughter of Optimus Prime decide to jump ship and become a Decepticon?"

Lumen, who had just taken another sip from her vial, put the glass down in front of her and sighed.

"It's a long story, but it is basically your fault."

Starscream went wide-eyed and leaned forward.

"What?"

Lumen laughed.

"Oh, not like that! The science fair. You and your brothers nearly killed me. Optimus went from being a rather protective father to a full-blown prison guard. I couldn't take two steps outside without someone reminding me that I could have died. Everyone conveniently forgot that I spent millions of years all on my own."

Starscream nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"I was created to learn. I have to experience new things. The whole thing was driving me mad, so in the end I had to get away."

"You could have just taken off. Why join us?"

Lumen thought for a moment. She had grown to trust Starscream more in the time that had passed. But she didn't trust him with the information on what Megatron really was to her.

"I stole a communicator and got a hold of your commander. I wanted a personal truce… I wanted to be able to freely move wherever I wanted. He offered me something better." Lumen said.

"What did he offer?"

"If I was willing to betray the Autobots, I could have everything I wanted."

Starscream chewed on her words for a while. Then he laughed out loud.

"Well, you're probably the smartest thing he did in a long time."

Lumen didn't laugh with the seeker. He finished his vial and kept grinning like a fool.

"Why did you hate Megatron so much? You must have had a reason for joining him once?"

Starscream went silent and his face twisted into a look of contempt.

"Megatron started out as a strong leader. He was someone to look up to. I idolized him! He was everything I strived to be. He destroyed Sentinel Prime who was wearing Apex armor! He was Immense back then… Then it was like he gave up. He had plans, but nothing ever came to fruition."

Starscream was silent for a while. He stared off into space. Then he grabbed Lumen's vial and drank the rest of her energon.

"Truth be told, we hadn't made any real progress until you came along. That's why I took away your command when I was leader."

"That makes no sense."

"It doesn't?" He looked up at her.

"You're way too smart for your own good. You're brilliant at making plans, and your loyalty to Megatron was unquestionable. So of course you would have me overthrown somehow! I had to get rid of you. I planned on exiling you in a neat little package to the Autobots. But then Galvatron showed up."

Lumen was about to respond when a violent burning sensation erupted in her chest. It felt like someone had lit her spark on fire. She grabbed at her spark chamber and groaned. Starscream threw the vial on the floor and grabbed her by the shoulder just as she fell forward.

"What's happening to you?"

* * *

Optimus was clutching his chest. It felt like someone had ripped his chest open with a fiery grip. Elita was by his side, holding his shoulders.

"Optimus! My love, please talk to me! What's happening?"

* * *

Starscream flung the femme over his shoulder and carried her out of the bar. He had to get her back to the ship and try to figure out what was going on. He was halfway back to the ship when she suddenly spoke.

"Starscream, you can put me down. I can walk now."

Starscream stopped and gently put the femme down. He held her shoulders to make sure she wouldn't fall. She took a few deep breaths before she started walking back to the ship. Starscream followed behind her.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded.

"I don't know. I intend to find out, but I can't say what it was right now."

"Has that ever happened before?"

Lumen shook her head. It wasn't something that had ever happened before. But it felt like a warning. Not just for her, but for every single Cybertronian.

Something was coming.

* * *

**And you, yeah you! You can put a damn two word comment, can't you?**


	33. Boarded

Starscream didn't bother Lumen when she spent her time in the research labs. She came by often enough for him to not get bored by her absence, but after the event on New Kaon, she had been spending much more time with her datapad and her supposed research. He only waited for an answer. He was almost starting to believe that she just had a bad reaction to the isotopic energon. After all, the kid was a rookie in that department.

Lumen was putting her finishing touches on her project. It had taken a lot of time to complete. Especially because she had to dodge questions from Starscream and gather materials while they leisurely cruised around the universe. Lumen enjoyed travelling, but she knew that time was running out. She had no choice but to return to Cybertron and talk to the new Autobot leader… Rodimus Prime, if she remembered correctly. She had looked him up a bit during the beginning of their journey. She remembered him well enough, Hot Rod. She wasn't sure if he would even be willing to meet with her. She did exile him when the Decepticons took over Cybertron, after all.

Lumen put down her welding torch and wiped off a spot of oil from her hands. Hot Rod was around the same age as her, maybe a vorn older. She kept rubbing the cloth over the spot where the oil had marked her hand.

It bothered her. Every Autobot had treated her like a child… Hot Rod had always acted like a child, yet he gained everyone's immediate respect when he became a Prime.

Was that really what it took? For some God-given object to grant respect? What of ideas and intelligence? Had they lost all place in the world? She was intelligent, and she sought new information constantly. She learned quickly and tried to better herself and her world. She had a goal that wasn't just for the good of her, but for all, yet nobody had wanted to listen to her.

She threw the rag across the room and started hooking up a series of tubes to her creation, pumping energon into the lifeless form.

She had learned a great deal while building Starscream's new body. The leaks that had troubled her were not an issue this time around. She had checked three times to make sure. The transformation stress test had gone well, as had the wiring tests.

While the energon flowed, she suddenly wondered if the reason for the lack of respect was because she had been the daughter of Optimus Prime.

He'd always been one to pat her on the head and give her an overbearing smile. He had loved her, and wanted to protect her. She knew he respected her intellect. Maybe if she had given it time, he would have understood what was necessary? Maybe he would have given her a chance. Maybe she could…

She took a step back from her workbench and sat down on one of the chairs. No… There was no chance anymore. It was her decision. It was her choice to leave and her plan that had been his demise.

She had irrevocably killed him…

She broke into a sob. She had spent almost 4 million year trying to find him, only to be his downfall. Elita had always thought she was bad news. She wanted to take it back. Change her plans… It had all been fruitless in the end.

The machine pumping energon beeped three times. Lumen looked up, wiped her optics and stood up.

No, it hadn't been entirely in vain. She still had one shot. She looked at the still lifeless body before her.

She had killed both her fathers with one plan, but now she had a chance to at least make it half right.

She unplugged the energon feeders and opened the spark chamber.

She opened one of the cargo holds and grabbed a square object. A second gift she had received while underground.

Not one, or two. But three… A trinity of matrices. One that had been dubbed the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, but was really the Matrix of Truth. Then the Matrix of Wisdom, the one she carried within her. And finally, the Matrix of Strength.

She placed the square Matrix next to the lifeless body and smiled. She grabbed a tool she had built as a side project. She had studied the process of spark melding, and realized that she could isolate a part of her spark that a parent had given her. The only downside was that she could only do it once.

She opened the small compartment that held the wires needed for the transfer. She plugged herself into the little box and pressed the button. For a moment, nothing happened.

"That can't be right…"

Lumen was about to unplug and check the circuit when a violent convulsion made her drop to her knees. It felt like someone was sucking the life out of her. She had known it probably wasn't going to be pleasant, but the sheer amount of torture was not expected. She just stayed on her hands and knees, tears flowing from her optics from the pain. She couldn't even scream.

And just as abruptly as it had begun, it stopped. Lumen grabbed onto the edge of the table and pulled herself up. Her legs were still shaking when she unplugged the device. A little green diode told her that the transfer had been a success.

Checking her stats, her own spark hadn't been damaged either. The pain was just a very unpleasant side effect. She plugged the device into the body on the table and smiled as she initiated the spark transfer.

"Wake up."

* * *

Starscream had just woken up from recharging when he heard a scream from the research lab. He jolted out of his chair and hurried down to see what had happened.

He found Lumen sitting on a chair, her head in her hands, sobbing over the lifeless body of none other than Megatron himself.

For a long time he just stood there. Then the femme just screamed at the body.

"Wake up! Damn you! Wake up, it was supposed to work!"

Starscream finally snapped out of his little trance and yelled.

"Are you insane? Is this what you've been working on all this time?"

Lumen swirled around and looked at Starscream like a small child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"You don't understand." She said.

"I think I understand well enough! You're completely obsessed! I thought you had an actual plan! Not some creepy idea to bring back the dead."

Lumen shook her head and grabbed the square matrix from the table.

"It was supposed to work!"

She turned around and shoved the matrix into the chest compartment and slammed the chamber shut.

"It should have worked! I did everything right! It worked on you! Why wouldn't it work on him! Why did they give me this if it wouldn't work?"

Starscream took a step back and shook his head.

"I give up! I'm going back to New Kaon. If you want to stay here and play with your obsession, that's your choice, but I'm out!"

He turned around and left the research bay. Lumen followed after him.

"Starscream, wait! Please wait… You don't understand!"

Starscream didn't stop his course to the main bridge, so Lumen grabbed his arm. He turned around and looked at her with contempt.

"What? Explain this to me, then!"

Lumen wiped away her tears and looked into his optics.

"Megatron… he's… he's my…"

She didn't get to finish her sentence before the alarm went off and the ship computer warned them of an attack.

_**Alert! Alert! Hostile detected. Boarding imminent**_

Starscream grabbed his blaster and shoved Lumen aside.

"Start the security protocol! We need to get the blast doors sealed so they don't get to us! We may have to sever the bridge to get away."

Lumen grabbed onto Starscream again.

"Not without Megatron!"

He gave her an annoyed look.

"I'm not risking our lives for that!"

"I'm willing to risk mine!" She screamed.

_**Ship has been boarded.**_ The computer interrupted.

Starscream cursed and headed toward the airlock to intercept the intruders. Lumen headed to the bridge to seal the blast doors and start the security protocols. She opened the door to the bridge, but stopped two steps in when she saw Bludgeon standing by the console.

"We meet again." He grinned.

"You?"

He took a few steps toward her, surprised to see she wasn't backing away.

"Someone is looking for you. He's put out a very sizeable reward to get you… Or rather, that thing you carry around inside you."

"The Matrix…"

"Both of them."

Lumen's Matrix opened up and actively scanned Bludgeon. Images flooded Lumen's head. She suddenly knew who was looking for her. The reason for her sudden chest pain back on New Kaon.

"The Fallen…" She gasped, taking a step back.

"Indeed. He's promised all sorts of powers for us if we can get the matrices for him. And I was pleasantly surprised when I learned that you were the one holding them. The weakest Cybertronian I ever encountered. It's going to be the easiest job I ever did."

Bludgeon pulled his sword out and charged at her, but his path was suddenly blocked by Starscream. Lumen screamed as Bludgeon rammed his sword through Starscream's chest. Bludgeon's face curled into an irate expression. Annoyed by the interruption, he kicked Starscream off the sword, watching Lumen catch the injured seeker. She fell to her knees under the seeker's weight, but still tried to stop the bleeding that erupted from his chest.

"No, Oh Primus, No!" She cried.

Starscream tried to lift his arm to point his blaster at Bludgeon, but couldn't. Bludgeon was watching the scene with an amused expression.

"I don't really need you personally…" He said, drawing his blaster and pointing it at Lumen's head.

Lumen held on tight to Starscream.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She whispered before a blaster deafened everything.

* * *

Starscream woke up in the medical bay. He looked down at himself, to realize that his wound had been patched. The glass in his chest had been replaced with a piece of metal, in an apparent lack of materials. He checked his stats and found them normal. He'd passed out from energon loss right after Lumen had been shot.

He sat up and found that he was still on the ship. Had Bludgeon patched him up? What was going on?

He proceeded to walk to the main bridge. He stopped in the doorway when he found Lumen sitting in the co-pilot chair, reading her datapad. She looked up from the datapad and smiled.

"Starscream. I'm glad to see you are up. How are you feeling?"

"I'm… I'm fine. What happened? Bludgeon was going to shoot you."

The captain's chair swiveled around, revealing Megatron in the seat.

"M…Megatron?"

"Apparently, the missing catalyst in my experiment was the matrix. It was needed for him to reanimate in the first place. When I put it in, it only took a few moments for him to wake up."

Megatron nodded, not taking his optics away from Starscream.

"I woke up just in time to see what you did for my Lumen. I have to thank you for that."

Starscream swallowed.

"I… It was no problem."

Megatron stood up and Starscream realized that Megatron was far bigger than he remembered him. He seemed even bigger than he did when he saw him in the research lab. Or maybe that was just the fear talking.

After all, he did throw Megatron out of Astrotrain in order to take over. Megatron started walking over to him, raising the weaponized arm. Starscream could have sworn that even the cannon was bigger than ever.

_That's it… he's going to kill me_ Starscream thought. He wanted to run, but was nailed to the spot. Megatron then put his hand on his shoulder and gave it a momentary tug.

"Thank you, Starscream."

Starscream nodded, finally realizing that Megatron was actually grateful. He wasn't going to kill him or seriously maim him.

"You're welcome…"

"Papa, I honestly think you're scaring him a little."

Megatron turned around with a grin.

"Well, I'm allowed to do that, since he did kill me!"

Starscream turned his head and looked at Lumen.

"Wait… Papa?" He asked, looking from Lumen to Megatron and back. Megatron turned to look at Starscream again.

"Yes. Lumen is my sparkling." He said, letting go of Starscream's shoulder as he moved to return to his seat.

Starscream stood motionless for a few moments. His face then curled into a most confused expression .

"Wait, I thought you were Prime's sparkling? How in tarnation is that possible?"

Lumen looked at Megatron, who motioned for her to continue the explanation.

"It's a long story. But basically, Megatron left me with a babysitter when he had to work in the mines. We lived in Tarn during the conflicts. When Vos attacked, my babysitter died protecting me. I was found by Optronix, who would later become Optimus Prime. Optronix adopted me by way of spark-completion. I couldn't tell them about Megatron because the photon bombs messed up my memory banks. A few flashes started coming back, among one of them was the name Lumen."

Starscream sat down on one of the seats and looked at Megatron.

"How did you believe this?"

Megatron looked at Starscream.

"I didn't at first. She sought me out after the science fair. I thought Optimus had sent her. By then I had largely repressed all memories of Lumen. When I met her, she said the name for the first time in so many years, and I nearly killed her for reminding me. Soundwave unlocked her memory and showed me what was in it. She was telling the truth after all."

Starscream knew that Soundwave wasn't one to mess with when it came to reading minds. If anyone could find any dirty little secret, he would. Lumen suddenly spoke up.

"Anyway, we can reminisce at a later date. We are returning to Cybertron to speak with Rodimus Prime."

Starscream looked at her.

"You are really insane, you know that?" He said with a grin.

He stopped grinning when he realized that Lumen was as serious as ever. She looked at him with an oddly terrified expression.

"We have to return… The Fallen is coming."

* * *

And how about you new readers, eh? You fancy leaving a little review?


	34. Return to Cybertron

Starscream had listened to Lumen explain about The Fallen. He had been one of the original thirteen Transformers created by Primus. He had been led astray because destruction and mayhem had pleased him too much. He had eventually given himself to Unicron and tried to destroy Primus. His attempt had failed, and along with Unicron, he had been sucked into a black hole.

Lumen didn't know when Unicron had made it back into this universe, but The Fallen had made his return when she collapsed on New Kaon. The pain in her chest had been a warning from her Matrix. She imagined that Rodimus would likely have experienced the same pain. With any luck, he would know that something was coming, and they would already be preparing for any kind of assault.

"I will be in the think tank. I have to come up with some strategies. I don't know what The Fallen is planning. I need to know what he can do if he has all three matrices. He is probably going after Primus himself, so I may have to meditate a bit on that. I'll get back to you when I know more." Lumen got up from her chair, gathering her datapad and a few other tools in her left hand.

She gave Megatron a pat on the shoulder before leaving the main bridge. Starscream watched her go. He had to admit he was a little bit nervous about being left alone with Megatron. He still wasn't entirely sure the Decepticon leader wouldn't just toss him into the airlock and eject him into space.

Both were silent for a while. Starscream cleared dust out of his boomer box and looked at Megatron.

"What was it like? I mean… To find out your sparkling was alive?"

Megatron turned his head and looked at Starscream.

"Do you remember when I fought in the arena on Cybertron?"

Starscream nodded. Of course he did. He had idolized Megatron back then. He had wanted nothing but to serve him. To give his life for him.

"Yes…"

Megatron looked at the monitors in front of him.

"When I joined the fights, I only did so to die."

"Why?"

Megatron flipped a few switches on the dashboard, clearing the path of a few asteroids that moved into their path.

"I took the work in the mines because the pay was good. I had to leave her behind with a neighbor, but it was only for a few duins, then we could find something better. I wanted her to grow up and become something better. She's not built for hard labor or fighting. You can tell."

Starscream nodded, intrigued by the fact that Megatron was actually talking about it.

"The mines were then closed, and all the miners fired. Someone loudly protested, and the guards killed him. The senator was attacked, and in the commotion, I attacked and killed a guard. It was the first time I had ever killed anyone. I could lie and tell you that I found a liking for it, but I didn't. I hated it. I hated myself, and I regretted it." Megatron sighed.

"We were arrested. But on the way, we hijacked the ship and disappeared in Kaon. I tried to contact Resonance to get her to bring Lumen to me… But I was told that nobody had survived Tarn's destruction. I joined the Arena fights just to die along with her."

"Why didn't you?" Starscream asked.

Megatron gave a short laugh.

"My pride got the better of me. If I died I couldn't bring those to justice who took her away. I would destroy the planet and call it peace. Just for her. I couldn't wash my hands of the blood already on them, but I could dilute it with the blood of the guilty. She didn't deserve that fate."

Megatron was silent for a few moments.

"When I realized that the femme in front of me was my sparkling. I felt… regret."

"Why regret? She was alive!"

Megatron looked at the seeker. He was older than Lumen, but not by much. He had been with them since he was a youngling. In many ways, he was so naïve."

"Because I didn't look for her. I never went back to Tarn. I never checked if she was really dead. I could have had her back with me, and avoided this entire farce. I could have left Cybertron with her and lived somewhere else."

Starscream made an exasperated noise.

"No you couldn't have! It's not like you could have just booked a cruise ship off the planet! And you were wanted for murder too. If you'd stepped into Iacon, they would have been on your tailpipe before you were three steps into the city. And if you had managed to get her and get off the planet, where would you have gone? It's not like there's a lot of places you can go when you're already dirt poor!"

Megatron was a bit taken aback by Starscream's tirade. Megatron was used to the seeker's outbursts, but he'd never actually experienced Starscream being… right.

Megatron nodded slowly.

"You are right, Starscream. For once."

Starscream tried to hide a smug grin. Megatron looked at the seeker with a grim expression.

"Don't let it go to your head!"

They both sat in silence for a few hours. Then Starscream suddenly sat up straight.

"We have to make a detour. There's something we have to do before we arrive on Cybertron!"

* * *

Lumen woke up, as the door opened behind her. She sat up straight, relocating her datapad and removing a note she somehow had gotten attached to her helmet.

"I'm awake. I didn't realize I had drifted off. I guess these plans were taking more out of me than I realized. I just wish I knew what I was up against. Is a shield going to help at all? Do we need ground forces? Do we have enough energon to prepare an army? What purpose do the matrices serve? Will they help in the fight? Argh, I'm so frustrated…"

She threw her hands up in the air as a sign of relinquishment and leaned back in the chair. A light chuckle erupted behind her.

"Maybe a small break would help you think better, my love?"

Lumen nearly knocked the chair over when she flew out of it.

"Soundwave!" She screamed, jumping into his arms. He embraced her tightly, enjoying her small arms around his neck. She cried into his neck.

"Oh Primus, I missed you so much. How did you get here?" She sobbed.

He kissed her on the top of the head, rocking her back and forth a few times.

"Starscream contacted me. He told me to meet you at these coordinates. I didn't believe him at first. It wasn't until Megatron told me that he was here as well that I stole a ship and left Chaar."

Lumen squeezed herself closer to Soundwave and smiled.

"I'll have to thank him later. Right now I just want you to hold me."

* * *

Lumen and Soundwave joined the two others on the Main Bridge just as they neared Cybertron.

"Where do we land?" Megatron asked.

"Forum of Enlightenment. We need to speak to Prime, and that may just be the best place to land. It's also close to Iacon."

Soundwave looked around the ship.

"Do you think we'll make it that far? It's a Decepticon ship after all?"

"It doesn't bear any insignias, and we had the transmitter exchanged to emit another signature. This is just a debunk transportation vessel for all they can see. We want to talk to Prime and he'll know we're speaking the truth when we talk to him."

Megatron gracefully passed over the Hub capital and continued to the Forum of Enlightenment. They managed to land at the forum before they were hailed on the radio.

_"This is Iacon command central. We do not recognize your signature, what is your business here? Over"_

Megatron radioed back.

"We are here because our commander had an incident. We heard your Prime had a similar incident and we come to offer our aid. Over"

The radio was silent for a few moments.

_"What incident you are referring to. Over"_

Megatron sighed and pressed the radio button again.

"Blinding chest pain followed by a feeling of absolute dread. Over."

Again, it was silent for a while.

_"Please hold a moment. Over"_

Starscream fidgeted in his seat and looked at the others.

"They're readying their cannons to shoot us! Let's get out of here!"

Lumen shook her head.

"No… I think they're on their way… Papa, can you feel it?"

Megatron nodded.

"Yes. The third Matrix is coming closer."

They all looked down as the officer on the other end of the radio spoke up again.

_"Stay where you are, Prime informed me that he's on his way. Over and out."_

Lumen was suddenly visibly nervous. Megatron got out of his seat and watched her pace back and forth. She suddenly turned to him.

"Maybe this was a bad idea. What if they don't want to listen? I betrayed them! I hurt my best friend! I left them and exiled them. I killed Optimus! I… I…"

Megatron walked over and put his hand under her chin.

"Listen to me, Lumen. They will listen because this Rodimus Prime will know that what you say is true. He will know what you say is true the moment the words leave your mouth. You would not have been given this task if you couldn't handle it."

Lumen nodded and let out a sigh.

"You may want to see this…" Starscream said, backing away from the window as the convoy of Autobots came closer. Megatron and Lumen both looked out of the window. Lumen audibly gasped and double checked the security monitors, zooming in on the Autobots.

Optimus stopped in front of the ship and transformed. He had been called on the radio and asked about the incident. Nobody but him, Elita and Perceptor had known about it, so how did the strangers on the ship know.

Oddly enough, he felt an immediate draw to the ship, like something was calling to him from within. Sprocket had volunteered to come along as a security measure along with Jazz and Hot Rod. But as they had approached, a crowd had already formed.

Optimus approached the ship and waited for a few moments.

"I am Optimus Prime. You said you were here to help. Help with what?"

The ship remained silent for a few moments before the docking platform opened and lowered to the ground. Nobody exited, and Jazz and Sprocket decided to ready their blasters just in case.

Optimus held up his hand to ward them off when someone slowly started coming down the ramp.

Lumen felt like this was perhaps the heaviest steps she had ever taken in her life. Every single step into the light had to be forced because of her fear.

She stopped when she reached the bottom of the ramp and stood there, trying to read his expression. Why did he have to wear that mask? It made it so hard to read him.

Then Optimus fell to his knees. Lumen couldn't hold it in anymore. She screamed.

"Dad!"

She ran to him and fell into his arms. He held her so tight, she could barely breathe. She suddenly realized he was crying.

"I thought you were dead, Maria."

She shook her head.

"I almost was. The Last saved me."

Optimus moved back to look at her.

"There's something different about you…"

She opened her chest compartment, revealing the small Matrix within.

Optimus hung his head and covered his face in his hands.

"I never wanted you to have this burden, Maria."

Lumen closed her chest compartment and smiled to him.

"Dad, you will at some point have to call me by my real name."

She stood up and took his hands.

"I have something to show you."

He got to his feet and followed her. Jazz suddenly yelled.

"Optimus, are you sure you want to go with?"

Optimus turned and nodded.

"I'll be okay. Just stay here."

Lumen took him to the base of the ramp and turned around.

"Before we go in… I want you to trust me that no harm will come to anyone. Okay?"

Optimus studied her for a moment, but somehow, he knew she was telling the truth.

"I trust you… Lumen."

She smiled and led him up the ramp and up to the main bridge. When he entered, he was more than a little shocked to find Megatron, Soundwave and Starscream all standing there. Lumen grabbed Optimus' hands and spoke up.

"Remember what I told you! We came in peace."

Optimus eyed Megatron with ill covered malice.

"I've heard that one before."

Lumen walked over to Soundwave.

"Dad, do you remember when you found me in Tarn? How my memory was scrambled? Some of it began to come back in little bits and pieces. Soundwave forced the locked caches of memories open on Earth, and I would like for you to see them."

She knelt in front of Soundwave and he put his hands on each side of her head. He easily found the memories and started projecting them to his chest monitor. Optimus took a step back when he saw Lumen as a sparkling. Megatron was picking her up, feeding her energon cubes and putting her on a swing set. Then there she was handed to the femme she had been found under, and Megatron left to go to the mines. Then the bombings and Lumen and Resonance screaming and running from the Vos ships.

Optimus held up his hands.

"Stop. I've seen enough."

Lumen stood up and walked over to Optimus.

"Dad… Back on Earth, Megatron gave me a choice. I could join him, or stay with you."

Optimus took her hands and nodded.

"I don't blame you for what you chose. I didn't give you a choice, and there were times where I wished I had acted differently."

Lumen's smile didn't last. She looked at the others and sighed.

"Unfortunately. We are not here only to make peace. We're there because The Fallen is coming to Cybertron."

* * *

So, if you'd like to leave a review, I'd be pleased.


	35. You can't plan friendships

Lumen had opted to fly to the central spaceport within Iacon and land there to avoid having the crowd panic at the sight of Megatron.

Optimus had left the ship and brought Sprocket and Jazz with him back to Iacon. As much as it pained him to leave his daughter for even a second, he had to gather his troops for a meeting. Lumen and Megatron had gone to the Chamber of Ancients, where the connection to Primus was the strongest. She was sitting on the floor, deep in thought, when Sprocket entered.

The blue femme watched her old friend with wariness. How could they even be sure she was the same? Optimus had never indulged any specifics on Lumen's defection. And now she was back with Megatron. What about Galvatron?

Galvatron had always said he was Megatron rebuilt. Now what were they supposed to believe.

Lumen looked up at Sprocket and smiled.

"I'm glad to see you, Sprocket." She got to her feet, but didn't approach Sprocket.

"I know you don't trust me… But we are here to help."

Sprocket scoffed at Lumen's words.

"Really? You brought him here to help?" She pointed at Megatron, who stood near the edge of the platform. He didn't move, but watched Sprocket with a mild interest.

"He destroyed everything! He's spent millions of years trying to kill every one of us! And now he just magically wants to help us. I don't buy that for one nano-second."

Lumen sighed, looking at Megatron.

"Everyone has their own idea of justice. I don't agree with what he did. But I understand why."

Sprocket took a step forward.

"Justice? His slaughter has nothing to do with justice! This was never anything more than a vain lust for power! How can you honestly tell me that you forgive him for what he has done to us? To you? To me?"

Megatron finally took a step forward.

"Because I'm her creator."

Sprocket looked at Megatron, then back at Lumen.

"Is that what he told you? And you believed him?"

Lumen shook her head.

"No. That's what I told him."

Sprocket shook her head and moved to walk away. Lumen took a step forward.

"Sprocket, wait. Let me explain!"

The blue femme didn't stop, but left the Chamber without another word. Lumen sighed and looked at Megatron. He came over and wrapped his arm around her small shoulders and tugged her closer to him.

"She will come around eventually."

Lumen sighed.

"I hope so… She was one of the few bots I really thought of as a friend." She kept her optics peeled on the doorway for a few moments before she released herself from Megatron's embrace.

"I have to meditate some more. I keep getting these flashes of the Fallen. I think I'm beginning to understand his motives."

Megatron nodded.

"I know. I've been seeing them too."

Lumen looked up at her creator.

"You have?"

He nodded.

"Yes. I'm not sure, but I think you may be the conduit of those visions. After all, you do have the Wisdom Matrix."

She grinned.

"Maybe you can transfer a little bit of strength my way so I can finally use a blaster, then?"

He laughed and patted her on the head.

"Like you would even know how to shoot it, princess. You should get back to your meditating."

Lumen sat back down on her knees and sighed, trying to concentrate on her plan.

"Are you two settling in? I've made sure you get secure quarters of your own." Optimus interrupted.

Lumen stood up and looked at him.

"Thank you. I'm trying to get a bearing on the Fallen. You've seen the visions as well, I presume?"

He nodded and took her hand.

"I still can't believe you're alive. Galvatron tore you apart."

Lumen involuntarily shuddered at the memory. She had never been as terrified as when Galvatron tore into her. If she never had to see him again, it would still be too soon. Megatron moved over to his daughter and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Lumen. As long as I'm here, he'll never lay a hand on you again."

Lumen almost wanted to protest. She still had an aversion to being protected, but of course, she had realized that she couldn't stop either of them from trying.

"I realized something just now." She said and looked at Optimus.

"Dad, I'm sorry. I know you were just trying to protect me on earth. I hated it. I wanted my freedom, and I didn't think you understood me. I should have talked to you more and made you understand. I should have proven that I was capable of taking care of myself."

Optimus pulled her into his arms and sighed.

"Lumen, I only did what I did because I was frightened. I thought I had lost you once, and the prospect of losing you again was more than I could take."

She smiled and allowed him to release her before she continued.

"The point is, that I realized just now, that I know my limits, but I have been ignoring them. I do put myself in unnecessary danger just for the sake of learning. I will need someone to protect me from whatever lies ahead. And I need to learn to accept that. I hope that you will accept this task, but in the same breath, I ask that you understand that sometimes I will get hurt. I will fall, but I will get up again."

Optimus nodded and patted her on the cheek.

"I will. Even if I have to share that job with Megatron, I will."

Lumen nodded and resumed her meditating. It wasn't long before she had a plan ready. Optimus was to lead the defense. Any and all civilians and buildings should be protected from whatever assault The Fallen had planned. Megatron should lead the offense. He and his troops should directly attack The Fallen when he arrived. He shouldn't have room to land on the planet or get any foothold in the city.

Lumen would stay in the Stellar Galleries and direct the battle and rescue operations.

Spies were sent out to find out how far The Fallen was from Cybertron, and troops were getting ready for the onslaught. In a few megacycles, they would have to gather the troops and let them know that Megatron would lead the offense. They knew it wouldn't be received well. But they would have to explain to the troops how important this was. They were fighting a common enemy, and their entire existence depended on all of them following orders and relying on the fact that Megatron was there to help them.

Lumen had already set up in the Stellar Galleries. She felt invigorated by the atmosphere. Her thoughts flowed so easily here. The dome allowed her to see the entire would-be battlefield, and her Matrix almost pulsed from the eons of information that had passed through here.

"You wanted to see me?"

Lumen turned and saw her bondmate in the doorway.

"Yes, I have a task for you." She said with a smile.

He came over to her and put his hand on her arm.

"You're practically glowing." He mused.

"I'm receiving so much information here. It's amazing." She said with a smile.

"Anyway, I need you to be my second set of eyes. I need to know what is going on everywhere, and I couldn't think of anyone better suited for that task than you."

Soundwave nodded and removed his facemask.

"I have already sent out my spies to set up surveillance all over the place."

He kissed her softly and pulled back, sliding his mask back into place. She gave him a worried look.

"Please come back to me." She said.

He chuckled softly.

"As you command." He said, before he turned to leave.

"I'll be in touch." Was the last thing he said before he exited the Stellar Galleries.


	36. Troops

Optimus had gathered the troops in the Decagon to announce the plans. Lumen and Megatron were standing with him in a small separate room, waiting for the crowd to settle in.

"This is it." Optimus said.

"They aren't going to be happy about this, but if you're right, we will have our work cut out for us. No need to complicate things further by infighting." He continued, looking out at the crowd. Lumen found Sprocket and Axle in the crowd. Sprocket didn't look happy, but by the looks of the crowd, she hadn't told anyone else of who had been on the ship.

"Let's go." Optimus said, taking the first step onto the podium to speak to the crowd. Lumen didn't budge until Megatron nudged her in the back, gently pushing her forward.

Optimus began his speech as they came into the light. The crowd went insane, yelling about the Decepticons and the traitor. Lumen involuntarily moved back, but felt safer when Megatron put his hand on her shoulder. Optimus yelled.

"Quiet everyone! They are here for a reason! Everyone has to believe that this is for the best."

Someone from the crowd yelled up at the stage.

"She betrayed us!"

Another voice intoned.

"She threw us off the planet!"

Lumen stepped forward and looked at the faces. She remembered some of them from when they had exiled the Autobots.

She looked at Optimus, who motioned for her to speak. It took her a few moments before she suddenly spoke up, quieting the crowd.

"Yes, I did. I exiled you. I betrayed you." She began, watching their faces go from angry to slightly confused.

"You may have your theories of why I did it. Why I betrayed you. Why I betrayed Optimus… My own father… The reasons are many and some are personal. I was found in Tarn when I was just a sparkling. Under a dead femmebot who had protected me with her own body. Optimus adopted me because everyone assumed the femme to be my creator."

She paused with a sigh, still looking at the crowd.

"She wasn't. My creator was a simple miner who did everything in his power to make sure I had what I needed. Even if it meant that he had to leave me for a while. My memories of him are good! He was a good father, a kind one. He would play with me, read to me, work himself hard and even starve himself so I could eat! That miner was Megatron…"

The crowd went abuzz with murmurs and yelling. Optimus had to yell to get them to calm down again. Lumen waited a moment to continue.

"I don't believe in coincidences. There's too much at stake here. This war has been going on for so many years. Everyone is talking about returning Cybertron to its glory days. But the more I thought of it, the more I realized that the golden years were named so by the wealthy. The people in power. The ones who had more than they could ever need!" Her voice rose. The politics of Cybertron was always a subject that could get her riled up.

"But what started this war? An uprising among the poor? The red-eyed of Cybertron. The ones who could barely feed themselves! You may hate Megatron for what he has done. But he did it out of hate for a system that didn't care about him or the child he thought he had lost. The planet is dying now, and now you have lived in the same conditions as we did. You've gone hungry, cold and tired! You've wondered where your next meal would come from. And you've come to the same conclusion as he did. You will fight for it. You will fight for your right to live and be well."

Lumen watched the crowd. They were now completely silent. She looked from Optimus to Megatron and back at the crowd.

"The reason I did what I did was not because of hate. It was not for want of power. I did it for the damned, the poor and the hungry. I did it for you and me. I did it for Cybertron. This is my home, and I want it to be everything it can be. I have had to make some tough choices, and they were not easily made. I have made mistakes, and they were hard to bear. I will ask you for forgiveness for what I did, and if you can't forgive me, I ask that you at least trust that whatever I do in the future, it is in the best interest of Cybertron."

The crowd was silent for a very long time. The silence felt like the roof was sinking down on top of them. Lumen suddenly felt just as awkward as she had always done on Earth. A few murmurs started bubbling up here and there, but the yelling had stopped.

Optimus continued his own speech.

"Listen up, soldiers. We are facing a challenge bigger than Galvatron. This is why Lumen and Megatron have returned to Cybertron. The Fallen is coming to Cybertron."

Someone piped up from the sidelines.

"Who's to say they aren't allied with him?"

Megatron took a step forward.

"There's a very simple answer to that question." He and Lumen both opened their chest compartments, revealing their respective matrices.

The crowd grew silent again. This time Optimus could continue without interruptions.

"I know you're unsure of all of this, but I ask you to trust my judgment. We are preparing for a war against the Fallen and whatever allies he has rounded up to his cause. We have a war plan ready for both defensive measure and offensive tasks. Megatron will lead the offensive and I will lead the defense. Lumen will be in the Stellar Galleries, directing the battle."

He gave the crowd an unusually hard look.

"I trust there will be no issues with this."

The crowd seemed to agree. Lumen felt a poke on her leg and she looked down to find Rumble standing there, she knelt down and the little spy whispered something to her. She staggered to her feet and gave Megatron and Optimus a quick look before she left the stage.

Optimus looked at the crowd again.

"Your tasks have been assigned to your datapads, along with equipment lists and orders. You're dismissed for now."

Megatron and Optimus followed after Lumen, finding her outside the Decagon, sitting on a half crumbled bench, looking out of it.

"Are you all right?" Optimus asked, kneeling down in front of her.

Lumen shook her head.

"No… Soundwave just reported back. Rumble gave me the message. The Fallen is on his way."

Optimus nodded.

"You knew that, so why are you…"

She looked up at them.

"He's bringing Galvatron and the rest of the Decepticons."

Her hands were shaking and she looked down at the ground in shame.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize it would affect me so badly. I'm terrified. When Rumble told me, my first thought was to run. I wanted to abandon it all and just run away."

She balled her hands into fists and growled.

"This isn't logical. He couldn't have brought back Unicron and I wouldn't have cared so much. He's just one mech. Why can't I just look at this objectively?"

She covered her optics, trying to hide the tears. Megatron took her hands and pulled her to her feet.

"Listen here kid. You can't look at this objectively because he hurt you, and he hurt you very badly. Of course you're scared! Of course you can't look at this with the same logic you always use. You're not detached, you're involved, and it's clouding your judgment! But trust me when I say this, Prime and I will do our best to stop him, he is not going to get to you!"

Lumen nodded quickly and wiped the tears away.

"I'll return to the Galleries. You had better get ready. I'll keep you updated on the development."

Optimus gave her a hug before she left and he and Megatron left.

On the walk back to the Galleries, Lumen's thoughts were still circling around Galvatron when a voice suddenly threw her out of her daze.

"Hey…"

Lumen turned and Saw Sprocket on the other side of the crumbled road. Lumen nodded.

"Hello Sprocket. Have you gotten your equipment?"

Sprocket nodded.

"Of course."

There was a moment of silence between them before Sprocket continued.

"Listen, I just want to say… That was pretty brave of you, to talk to the troops like that."

Lumen chuckled, offering a short smile.

"I honestly don't feel very brave right now."

"No, I get that… I'm still not sure about all of this, but at least I know it wasn't just an easy choice for you." Sprocket said, still keeping her optics on the lithe femme.

"No, it wasn't." Lumen replied, looking into the distance.

Sprocket cleared her voicebox and motioned to leave. Lumen looked at her.

"Sprocket…"

"Yes?" The femme turned her head over her shoulder and looked at Lumen.

"You were my best friend on earth, I hope you know that."

Sprocket smiled and continued walking away, knowing nothing else had to be said right now.


	37. Arrival

The Stellar Galleries were abuzz with life, Soundwave's spies were doing an excellent job of feeding information to Lumen's datacenter. Blaster had surprised by volunteering to join him and maximize the area. Lumen had gratefully accepted the offer, hoping it would bring others to trust them a little more as well.

It wasn't long until their scans picked up signals. A large mass was moving toward their planet. Everyone knew it was now only a matter of megacycles before they arrived. Optimus had done all he could to secure buildings, and a curfew had been issued. Civilians had gone into hiding and makeshift bomb-shelters had been set up. In all, they had done all they could. Lumen's plans for a sky shield hadn't been possible, since the energon-supply had been too low. It was either the sky shield, or the troops, and the sky shield wouldn't last forever.

Lumen was busy finalizing her plans when Starscream entered. He came over and looked at her many datapads and papers strewn all over the place.

"I'm surprised you can keep all of this in check."

She smiled, giving him a quick look.

"I don't really have to keep much of it in check. It's all up here, anyway." She said, tapping her head.

"I only need it when someone has to see it, and then it might become a problem if someone has moved around my things."

He laughed, picking up a datapad and moving it to a spot a little further away. Lumen grabbed it and put it back in its place.

"I hardly think this is a time for joking." She said, but still with a smile.

"This might be the last chance we get." He replied.

Both grew silent and stood there, looking at the papers for a while. Starscream suddenly composed himself.

"Listen, don't think I'm getting all sentimental. But I wanted to thank you for rebuilding me." He said, all the while avoiding to look at her. Lumen put down her datapad and looked at him.

"You're welcome, Starscream. I think I made the right choice. You've done things I never expected of you since then. I'm glad to see this change in you."

He nodded and looked at her.

"Well, when all this is over, I hope we can be friends."

Lumen nodded, watching the seeker fidget a little.

"I have my orders, and I should get to my post."

He turned to leave.

"But maybe we can fly around Cybertron a little when we've won. I'll show you a few tricks you haven't learned." He said as he was leaving.

"I'd like that very much, Starscream." Lumen said before he exited the door.

* * *

Megatron was standing at the front lines. His troops were spread out wide, to make sure they could redeploy as swiftly as possible when they knew where The Fallen would attack. Starscream was standing next to him, watching the skies.  
The troops were visibly nervous, but neither knew if it was because of the Fallen's immediate arrival, or because Megatron was leading them. Megatron looked at the troops and sighed. He turned around and wanted to say something. He almost wished he could just intimidate them like his old troops, but that approach wouldn't work here. He opened up his comm unit and signaled his troops.

"Listen up everybody." He started. Not sure where he was going from there.

"This is it. When the Fallen arrives, we're not fighting for Autobots or Decepticons. We're fighting for Cybertron. There are no longer any sides to choose here. We fight as one, or we die as one."

He was silent for a moment.

"We've been at war for millions of years. A war we started for different reasons, and a war that we kept fighting for other reasons. Today, we end this fight with a completely different war. The Fallen doesn't care about our war, our wants or needs. Our sins and virtues are of no concern of his. He wants our planet, our home. He will destroy it and everything we've ever stood for. We stop him today, and with it, we will stop our own conflict! Today, we will become one! Megatron out."

He closed the comm unit and turned to look at the sky again. For a moment, the troops were silent, then suddenly they started cheering. He didn't know what part of what he had said that was right, but something had given them hope. His comm unit popped open and Lumen's voice echoed in his ears.

"Beautifully put, Papa. I'll be in touch. Lumen out."

Another message popped up on the screen, this time a written message from Optimus.

_Well said._

The cheering came to a halt when a large black mass grew larger in the sky. The Fallen had arrived.


	38. The Fallen

The Fallen didn't use words. He gave no warning, or room for surrender. The ship he had arrived in opened up, and a large mass of horrid bird-like creatures swarmed out. Scythe-like front legs and razor-sharp beaks were their main points of attack.

Unfortunately for the first wave of the creatures, Megatron didn't give them any room to show off, he fired his cannon and eradicated the first wave in one swift stroke. The troops, who had been on the verge of giving up by the mere sight of the creatures, found new hope.

"ATTACK!" Megatron yelled, causing the troops to storm forward against the next wave of attack.

Optimus and his troops were busy defending the entrances to the safe houses and bomb shelters when Galvatron and his troops emerged from the ship. They poured out like water from a faucet, cascading towards the planet with only the thought of conquest in mind.

Lumen got the message immediately when Galvatron landed. She was still in the Stellar Galleries, speedily reading the messages from her spies all over the warzone. She sent back messages to all her contacts, asking if anyone had seen The Fallen. But the so called star of the show had yet to emerge from the ship.

The razor-birds were relentlessly attacking the frontline. Starscream was leading the Aerialbots, Springer, and Omega Supreme in defending the skyline against the birds.

Lumen was still keeping an eye on the battle from her monitors, directing the flow via her comm units. She had picked up some tricks from Soundwave about managing multiple tasks at one time. He knew how to handle the sound, but her forte was reading. Her optics swiftly moved from one monitor to another, keeping an eye on various video feeds and messages at almost the same time.

She opened her comm and radioed Starscream.

"You have incoming from the south. Reroute and drop. Left swipe from the Aerialbots. Over."

_"Got it, over!"_ The seeker replied.

"Optimus, incoming from the north, set off the bombs in sector three and send in new sentinels to set up a perimeter. Over."

_"Bombs are set, over."_

"Megatron, you're being flanked by a back group, spread out your sixth division and have them take them on. Over."

_"On it. Over."_

Lumen moved her hands on the largest monitor in front of her, rearranging troops and resources to match the battle. She looked at the monitor for a moment, then radioed her bondmate.

"Soundwave, I need an update. Where are Galvatron and his men?"

There was no answer, so she radioed him once more, asking him for an update. Again, there was no reply. Lumen returned to her cameras, trying to get a bearing on where her bondmate was.

"Blaster, I've lost contact with Soundwave. Where is he? Over?"

Blaster took a moment before he responded.

"He left his post about two cycles ago. He didn't say where he was going, but he was in a hurry. Over."

Lumen closed her communicator and cycled the cameras again. She suddenly felt that panic rising in her throat. She had to know where that maniac had gone.

Her monitors suddenly exploded, sending shards of glass and metal at her. Lumen screamed and ducked, covering her face to shield herself from the sudden outburst.

As she lay on the floor, listening to the remnants of her stations hailing down upon her, a familiar laugh sounded in the room, sending an icy chill down her spine.

"Looking for me?" Galvatron asked as he lowered his cannon. He had fired a shot at her monitors, effectively putting them out of commission. Lumen shot up, the fear of her oppressor almost paralyzing her circuits. She fumbled at her comm unit, but her hands were shaking so violently, she couldn't even open it.

"Scared?" Galvatron laughed, taking a few steps toward her.

Lumen saw that as her chance. She transformed and blasted upwards. She aimed at the doorway, flying over Galvatron's head. She was almost at the doorway, when a violent tug stopped her motion. Galvatron had managed to grab her tailwing, and in a swift motion he threw her violently onto the floor. The hard impact forced her to transform.

Lumen coughed, trying to get her air intakes to restart after the rough landing. Galvatron grabbed onto her foot and pulled her closer. Lumen screamed out loud, kicking at his hand to free herself.

Galvatron released her foot and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her high enough for her to be unable to reach the floor.

"The Fallen wants your Matrix. What he wants with it, I don't really care about. When I heard you had survived, I found the thought of ripping you limb from limb too tempting to pass up. It didn't take nearly long enough the last time."

He looked her up and down, a hungry look in his optics.

"Maybe I'll even have some fun with you before I start."

Lumen reacted by kicking at him, her small hands desperately clawing at his hands. She had heard about forced bonding. A process violently unpleasant and even traumatic for the recipient. Whoever forced the bond would get whatever out of it they wished. The mere thought of Galvatron trying to force-bond with her made her innards scream.

The Decepticon leader threw her onto the floor and kicked her. Lumen tried to get to her feet, but Galvatron grabbed onto her neck and smashed her face onto the ground.

"Maybe you should beg me to stop?"

Lumen felt him pressing her head harder and harder, the pressure becoming so immense, she was sure her skull would crack any second. Then, footsteps approached and Galvatron's hand was ripped from the iron grip he had on her.

Lumen raised her head and saw Soundwave wrestling with Galvatron. Her bondmate had the upper hand. In the initial attack, he had managed to sever the cannon from Galvatron's arm, making the fight more evenly matched.

At first, Galvatron hadn't understood what had happened. Then he had suddenly realized that it was Soundwave who had tackled him away from the small femme.

"Traitor!" He screamed, backhanding the dark blue Decepticon across the face.

Soundwave shook his head and punched Galvatron in the face.

"Negative! I was never loyal to you!" He retorted, landing a punch square in Galvatron's gut.

Galvatron seemed out of it for a moment, then he grabbed Soundwave by the neck and rolled him over, getting the upper hand.

"I'll squeeze the life out of you! I'll make her watch you die, and then I'll take her myself. Then rip her apart limb by limb and feed her to The Fallen's little pets!"

Soundwave tried to kick Galvatron off of him, but couldn't get a good enough grip. He turned his head to see Lumen standing by the wall, seemingly paralyzed with fear. He reached out to her and tears started rolling down her face.

Galvatron laughed, making Soundwave look up at him.

"Try all you want! Every single one of you will die, and then we will rip this planet apart!"

He cackled maniacally and then he suddenly stopped. Soundwave could feel him releasing the grip around his throat. Galvatron slowly turned, and Soundwave could see that Lumen had suddenly moved behind him, her small dagger in her hand. Energon was dripping down Galvatron's back.

"Get your hands off him!" she whispered.

Galvatron toppled off of Soundwave, making him realize she had severed the spinal wires, rendering his legs useless. She took two steps closer to him and grabbed her rapier from her subspace pocket. Galvatron lifted his arms to protect himself.

"NO!" he screamed, as she jabbed the rapier at him.

The rapier went cleanly through his head, directly through the processing center. Galvatron's arms fell to his sides, and energon poured out through the back of his head. Lumen pulled out the rapier and threw it in the corner. She surveyed the scene for a few kliks before she fell to her knees with a sob. Soundwave was at her side immediately.

"Lumen? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head.

"No. I… I just never killed anyone before. Not like this."

Soundwave held her for a few cycles. She suddenly kissed him on his faceplate and sighed.

"You have to go. You're needed out there."

He nodded and got to his feet, pulling her up with him.

"What about you?" he asked.

"I'm going to move to the Chamber of Ancients. We have another communications center set up there in case of attack."

Soundwave retraced his faceplate and kissed her.

"I love you, Lumen." He said, before releasing her hands. Lumen smiled,

"I love you as well, Soundwave."

They parted ways, and Soundwave made his way back to his post and Lumen made her way down to the Chamber of Ancients.

Lumen had only just entered the Chamber when she found herself face to face with a grueling abomination of a Cybertronian. Engulfed in flames, The Fallen stared at her like she was a gift from the gods. He grabbed her by the wrist, and flung her across the room.

"Finally!" He growled as he made his way over to her.

"One of the trinity of Primes. The weakest of the three, but the power player in my little puzzle."

He forced her to her knees and grabbed her arm.

"Call the others!" He ordered.

"Never!" Lumen cried.

The Fallen laughed.

"Call them, or I unleash the rest of my army. No matter what, you will all die. It doesn't matter if you call them now, or I have to go get them. This only ends one way! Your planet is doomed. You can go the easy way, or you can go the hard way!" He said.

Lumen shook her head, still refusing to all her fathers. The Fallen shook his head at her.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way."

He pressed a button on her communications center and broadcast a live video feed to the Fallen's ship that still hovered above the warzone.

Everyone saw the monitors come online on the Fallen's ship. The Fallen was on the screen, but he stepped back and held onto Lumen's arm.

"This is a little invitation to the two remaining Primes. I'm going to start breaking the little one's limbs one at a time, until you both show up." He punctuated the statement by breaking Lumen's forearm, causing her to scream in pain.

"If anyone else show's up, I'll break her head off her neck." With that, he cut the video feed.

Megatron and Optimus had both seen the feeds. They ordered their troops to stand their ground and keep fighting as they went to the Chamber of Ancients.

When they arrived, The Fallen was holding onto Lumen's other arm. Megatron aimed his cannon at the Fallen.

"Release her!" He ordered.

Optimus looked at Lumen. She was in a pretty banged up condition, and her one arm was hanging in a rather odd angle.

"Lumen, are you functional?"

She nodded, looking at the both of them with an oddly determined expression on her face. The Fallen released her arm and laughed, drawing his sword.

"You three are going to hand over your Matrices now." He said flatly.

Lumen looked up at him.

"What good are they to you?"

He looked at her.

"You must carry the Wisdom Matrix."

She nodded.

"I will combine the three matrices. And in doing so, I will become a god!" He spread out his arm and laughed again, pointing his sword at Megatron and Optimus.

"I will level your planet until there is nothing left but dust in the cosmic winds. And then I will continue throughout the universe. When I am done, there will be nothing left. The universe will be a complete void, a testament of my destruction!"

Megatron growled.

"And when there is nothing left? What are you going to do after that?"

The Fallen looked at Megatron.

"There are an infinite number of universes other than this one. I will destroy them all!"

Lumen suddenly smiled.

"You will never succeed."

The Fallen stood in front of her, bent down and pointed the sword under her chin.

"And why is that, weakling?"

She looked up at him, her optics flaring up so bright, they were almost blinding him.

"Because I'm smarter than you!"

Her chest compartment opened up. And at the same time, Megatron and Optimus opened their chest compartments revealing their matrices. All three Matrices shining with a bright light. Lumen got to her feet as the Fallen staggered back.

"You think I didn't know you wanted me out of the Stellar Galleries? Galvatron didn't have to open his mouth to tell me all I needed to know! My matrix took all the knowledge I needed from him the moment he stepped through the door!"

She spread out her arms, the light from the matrices getting stronger as she spoke.

"This is the Chamber of Ancients! The very house of the Matrix mainframe. The place where we are guided and strongest."

The light from their matrices engulfed the Fallen as he screamed.

Lumen yelled at him before he disappeared in the radiance.

"This is where you die!"

The light burst, engulfing the room and shooting through the roof. Like a sunrise, it spread over the planet, eviscerating the Fallen's creatures and bursting his ship into flames. No nook or cranny was left untouched by the light.

And then, just as fast as it had spread, it faded, leaving the planet cleansed of the Fallen's presence.

Lumen, Megatron and Optimus stood in the Chamber of Ancients. Their chest compartments closed and the light faded from their eyes. Optimus hurried over to Lumen, who was still a little shook up from her attacks. Megatron radioed for a medic.

As they stepped outside, they were met by Soundwave and Perceptor. Sprocket joined up with them with her report.

"Optimus, The creatures are gone! What about the Fallen?"

Optimus nodded.

"He's gone. Lumen's plan worked."

"Plan, sir?" Sprocket asked.

Optimus looked at Lumen, who was sitting down on a bench, with Soundwave by her side, holding her hand as Perceptor worked on her broken arm.

"She radioed us before getting to the Chamber. Telling us that the Fallen would be there. The only way to kill him would be to open our Matrices on him. He's gone now."

Sprocket looked at Lumen, who was looking at Soundwave with the same look that Sprocket would give Axle. Perceptor popped Lumen's arm back into the joint, causing the femme to wince. Soundwave squeezed the femme's hand and nodded at her.

Sprocket looked back at Optimus.

"So it's over?"

Optimus nodded.

"Prime!" Megatron called from further down the bridge. Optimus looked at his old nemesis. He walked down the bridge and stood next to Megatron.

"You called?"  
"Look at that."

Megatron pointed down to the Energon Pools. The wells had been dry since before the war. During the Golden Years, they had been filled with Energon by the Senate to signal prosperity, but the spring hadn't been a natural one. Now a small trickle was making its way down to the natural waterfall, growing slowly bigger the more they watched.

"I think our little outburst had a side effect."

They both watched the trickle grow into a small stream before any of them spoke again.

"Now what, Megatron?" Optimus began.

"Now, we rebuild." Megatron said.

Optimus looked at his old enemy.

"Are you sure?"

Megatron turned around and looked at Lumen, who was walking down toward them.

"You watched her grow up, Optimus… I want to watch her grow old."

Lumen joined them, sliding her arms around their waists. She was still for a while, watching the planet waking up after the horrific battle.

Lumen didn't have any real need to say anything. She was enjoying the moment. Tomorrow they would begin to rebuild their planet.

The Last Autobot hadn't been entirely right. She hadn't saved their planet. _They_ had saved it. All of them. This wasn't something she could have done on her own. It was never meant to be just her. It was always meant to be three of them.

A trinity.

* * *

And that's it. The end. R/R if you please.


End file.
